Ontario collects $260,000 from one-day electricity surcharge on U.S. exports

Power lines are seen against cloudy skies near Kingston, Ont., Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

TORONTO — Ontario collected about $260,000 from the one day an electricity surcharge was in effect on exports to the United States, Energy Minister Stephen Lecce's office said Friday.

Premier Doug Ford announced on March 10 that Ontario was placing a 25-per-cent surcharge on electricity the province sends to 1.5 million homes in three states as one retaliatory measure against tariffs imposed on Canadian goods by U.S. President Donald Trump.

It caught the attention of Trump, who then announced he would double impending tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada to 50 per cent in response to Ontario's electricity surcharge.

But cooler heads ultimately prevailed, and after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick invited Ford and some federal ministers to Washington, D.C., for a meeting, the White House confirmed it would stick to the original 25 per cent for steel and aluminum tariffs, and Ford agreed to suspend the electricity surcharge.

Lecce's office said Friday that over the course of the one day the surcharge was in effect, Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator exported about 26,000 megawatt hours to the United States, collecting about $260,000.

"Our government took swift action to protect Canadian jobs and families by introducing a temporary electricity export surcharge," Lecce wrote in a statement.

"This sent a clear message: Ontario won’t back down to President Trump's unjustified tariffs."

The government said when it first introduced the surcharge that any revenues would be used to "support Ontario workers, families and businesses," but his office declined to be more specific about where the money would go.

The province had previously estimated that the surcharge would generate $300,000 to $400,000 in revenue each day it was in effect.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2025.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press