Ontario Premier Doug Ford is threatening to cut electricity supplies to the U.S. amid the ongoing trade war with President Donald Trump.
Ford said Monday that “everything is on the table” after Washington imposed 50 percent tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods.
Ontario currently supplies enough electricity to power approximately 1.5 million American homes and businesses, particularly in neighboring states including Michigan, Minnesota and New York.
“We power 1.5 million homes and businesses,” Ford said. “Everything’s on the table. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
He also threatened to completely halt exports of critical minerals from Ontario.
“I’ll cut them off,” he said. “You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario.”
BREAKING: Canada threatens to cut off all electricity and critical minerals to the US, including high-grade nickel and uranium, if the Canada-US trade war worsens, per AP.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says “I’ll cut them off… You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario,” adding…
— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) August 24, 2026
Among the resources flowing south are high-grade nickel and uranium refined in Ontario, materials with significant importance to American manufacturing, energy production and national security.
“What would they do without the high-grade nickel that we ship down to the U.S.?” Ford asked.
Ford suggested Canada could eventually go even further by using its enormous supplies of oil and potash as leverage against Washington.
The threats come after trade negotiations between the two countries collapsed Friday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from negotiations after deciding that Trump’s demands were unacceptable.
President Trump tried in recent days to use an untested legal power to force Canada to swallow trade concessions. Instead, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney quit the negotiations.
50 percent U.S. tariffs took effect early Saturday on an array of Canadian products. Carney said… pic.twitter.com/5OzMcMwMGb
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 24, 2026
The U.S. has since imposed its new 50 percent tariffs, while Canada announced retaliatory tariffs scheduled to begin September 8.
Trump responded to Ford’s threats on Monday with a blistering attack on both the Ontario premier and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“Lots of ‘bluster’ from Doug Ford, who is the Premier of the Canadian Province of Ontario, but who is better known as the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford,” Trump wrote.
“America has been carrying Canada for decades, but no longer! The U.S.A. will always be far bigger, richer, and stronger than Canada.”
Trump: “Lots of ‘bluster’ from Doug Ford, who is the Premier of the Canadian Province of Ontario, but who is better known as the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford. America has been carrying Canada for decades, but no… pic.twitter.com/KLWZ5Dybf3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 24, 2026
It is not the first time that Ford has made such threats.
Last year, he vowed to make Americans feel “pain like they have never felt before” over a separate trade dispute and has suggested targeting red states that voted for Trump.
