Doug Ford just took Canada’s trade war against the US to a new level
The Premier made a bold move
Ontario Primer Doug Ford promised his government would respond to any tariffs Donald Trump placed on Canada with force. However, Ford’s most recent move was a major hit to America that will have real consequences.
Ford was ready to fight Trump
Ford had previously floated cutting Ontartio’s energy exports to the United States along with banning American alcohol from shelves in the province, something that the Premier did do, but now he has gone one step further.
No more US access to government contracts
In
an effort to make Trump’s decisions hurt, Ford announced that Ontario
would ban all American companies from provincial contracts on X. The ban
was effective immediately and also targeted one of Trump’s closest
allies.
“Every
year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on
procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario.U.S.-based
businesses will now lose out on tens of billions of dollars in new
revenues,” Ford wrote on X.
“They
only have President Trump to blame,” Ford continued, adding: “We’re
going one step further. We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with
Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying
our economy.”
Ending
Ontario’s recent Starlink contract will come as a major blow to rural
Canadians but it is an even bigger pain for SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the
man some think might be behind some of Trump’s more worrying economic
policies
CBC
News reported that the Ontario government signed a $100 million dollar
deal with Starlink in November 2024. The deal was meant to help provide
internet access to up to 15,000 eligible homes and businesses in rural
Ontario.
Whether
or not Ford’s decision was a deliberate jab at Elon Musk is unknown,
but Ford hasn’t been very quiet about his dislike for the SpaceX and
Starlink CEO. On February 3rd, he called out Musk by name during a
speaking event.
Ford explained that Musk was a "part
of the Trump team that wants to destroy families, incomes, destroy
businesses” and added that he wanted “to take food off the table of
people, hard-working people, and I'm not going to tolerate it."
The
Ontario Premier is currently in the midst of an election set to take
place on February 27th. He has positioned himself as needing a new
mandate from Ontarians to counter the economic policies and trade
decisions of the new Trump administration
“Canada
didn't start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we're
ready to win it,” Ford wrote in his message on X. Who his decision will
hurt most has yet to be seen, but it was a bold move in response to the
tariffs Trump placed on Canada on February 1st, 2025.
Source: MSN
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