‘Feel the pain like we feel the pain’: Doug Ford suggests targeting electricity exports in tariff fight

Ontario PC leader Doug Ford responds to questions from reporters during a campaign stop, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford highlighted the renewed threat of U.S. tariffs Tuesday to hammer home the central message of his campaign in the final days of the snap election.

Ford, who has painted himself as the best choice to safeguard Ontario's economy, zeroed in on U.S. President Donald Trump's latest comments on the looming tariffs during a campaign stop in Ottawa, stressing the province needs to be "ready for anything" over the next four years.

Trump said Monday the tariffs, which were pushed back to March 4 after Canada agreed to introduce new security measures at the border, are "going forward on time, on schedule." His executive order calls for 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.

Ford mused Tuesday about making Americans pay more for the electricity Ontario sends to the United States in response to any levies.

"We're reviewing the cost of electricity we're sending down there. And if he puts tariffs on anything in Canada or Ontario, they're getting a tariff on their electricity," Ford said.

"And then we'll go to the next stage and we'll wait to see what happens from there."

He gave no further details on the proposed measure, or how it would fit in with his previously announced plan to cut off energy exports to the U.S. should Trump move forward with sweeping tariffs next week.

Ford said he doesn't want a tariff war, "but if someone comes in and starts attacking our families, attacking our businesses and attacking everything we do in Canada, that's it, I'm full in there.

"I'm in the ring and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that we hit back and they feel the pain like we feel the pain."

Ford gave a similar response when asked whether he had concerns about forging ahead with a $100-million deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX, after the Reuters news agency reported the U.S. has threatened to cut off Ukraine's access to the Starlink satellite internet system as it pushes for access to the country's critical minerals.

Earlier this month, when Canada was expecting U.S. tariffs to come into place, Ford promised to rip up the contract, which would see the company deliver high-speed internet to remote areas of northern Ontario.

That was part of a broader proposal to ban American companies from provincial contracts until U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods were withdrawn.

That ban, along with the scrapping of the Starlink deal, was put on hold when the levies were postponed.

Ford has made economic stability in the face of possible tariffs the centrepiece of his campaign, arguing he needs a stronger mandate to navigate the next four years of a Trump presidency.

But the other party leaders have called the $189-million election unnecessary given that the Progressive Conservatives already held a majority and would have received support for stimulus measures.

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said Tuesday that Ford should have diversified Ontario's economy and worked to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers a long time ago, once again accusing him of calling the election for personal gain.

Asked whether she would, as premier, leverage Ontario's electricity exports in a potential trade war, Crombie said it's important to remember how integrated the province's energy grid is with states across the border.

"It’s something we have to look at very closely, the impact of our energy grid," she said at a campaign stop in Toronto on Tuesday.

Crombie spent most of her news conference fielding questions about her endorsement of federal Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney, two days before the provincial election.

She said the presumed front-runner is "the right person for this moment in time."

"He is a leader that can stand up to Donald Trump and speak with some authority and experience on tariffs," she said.

Carney thanked Crombie for her endorsement in a social media post, writing: "Wishing you the best this Thursday, and let's keep building!"

Asked whether she interprets that as an explicit endorsement from Carney in return, Crombie said, "I certainly do."

Carney's team did not immediately respond when asked whether his tweet was an endorsement.

With only days to go until Ontarians head to the polls, the leaders of the four major parties are making a final push to get their messages out.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles began her day in London, Ont., on Tuesday before stopping in Cambridge and Waterloo on her way back to Toronto.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner spent a second consecutive day in Ontario’s cottage country, starting with a news conference in Huntsville alongside the candidate for Parry Sound-Muskoka, Matt Richter.

— With files from Maan Alhmidi in Toronto and Jesmeen Gill in Ottawa.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2025.

Paola Loriggio and Sonja Puzic, The Canadian Press