Ontario Premier Doug Ford holds a press conference outling his response to the tariffs the U.S. has placed on Canada, at Queen's Park in Toronto on March 4.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Canadian premiers banned U.S. booze from their liquor-store shelves, barred American companies from government contracts and floated cutting off supplies of power, nickel, uranium or potash, calling U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs a betrayal of a long-time ally.
Provincial leaders pulled the trigger on retaliation plans many of them had announced weeks ago – while expressing support for Ottawa’s move to push back with staged tariffs of its own.
In addition to moves aimed at striking back at the U.S., Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec are among the provinces that have pledged to bring in tax deferrals, tax cuts or direct aid to businesses expected to be reeling from the blow.
The provinces appeared united in their condemnation of U.S. tariffs. But divisions persisted over whether to use energy as a future bargaining chip, with Saskatchewan’s Premier rejecting calls to impose restrictions on potash and uranium, which some of his counterparts insisted were necessary.
“I think we should hit them right where it hurts,” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said.
Premiers met virtually on Tuesday afternoon with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who warned in a televised address that Mr. Trump’s tariffs were meant to crush Canada’s economy as a precursor to annexation by the U.S. The first ministers were to discuss plans for what Ontario Premier Doug Ford said would be a pandemic-like aid plan for affected workers and businesses – and what to include in the next phases of trade retaliation.
Mr. Ford appeared on CNN Tuesday morning to warn Americans that Mr. Trump’s tariffs would shutter auto plants, calling for stronger “dollar-for-dollar” tariffs on U.S. imports.
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The Ontario Premier also threatened to withhold his own province’s nickel and electricity exports and floated the idea of cutting off the U.S. from Saskatchewan’s massive reserves of potash and uranium. He said he would encourage Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who has publicly opposed the notion, to reconsider. But Mr. Moe said in a statement that any such move would be a self-inflicted wound.
Suggesting Mr. Trump might have to seek uranium from Russia, Mr. Ford alluded to the U.S. President’s recent televised clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mr. Trump’s alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“What a disaster that is,” Mr. Ford said. “He attacks his closest friends and neighbours who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them in wars and other crises. And who does he cozy up to? Putin. You’ve got to be kidding me.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Ford spoke by phone with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and according to two senior government sources, Mr. Lutnick cast the tariffs as part of a negotiation toward a deal. Mr. Lutnick urged Mr. Ford to “stand down” on retaliating against the U.S., the sources said. The Globe and Mail is not naming the sources as they are not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions.
Mr. Lutnick also told Fox Business on Tuesday that he has spoken with Canadian and Mexican officials and that Mr. Trump may announce a compromise on the tariffs on Wednesday.
Mr. Trudeau said Tuesday he would prioritize Canadian unity in the federal government’s response to the tariffs.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has also balked at any restrictions on oil exports, which like uranium, will face a lower 10-per-cent tariff in the U.S.
Alberta was set to release its own response to the U.S. tariffs on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Ms. Smith called the tariffs an “unjustifiable economic attack on Canadians and Albertans” and said that she fully supports the federal response announced by Mr. Trudeau.
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British Columbia is pulling all “red-state” alcohol – products from Trump-supporting states – from store shelves, Premier David Eby said, and is prioritizing Canadian companies for government procurement.
“We didn’t ask for this fight that the President has brought to Canada and to British Columbia, but I’ll tell you this: We’re not going to shrink from it,” Mr. Eby said.
In addition to pulling U.S. booze off shelves, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has launched tax deferrals for Manitoba businesses affected by the U.S. tariffs.
“When you’re in a struggle with a larger adversary, you have to use leverage. And so, the leverage that we have as Canadians is our unity,” Mr. Kinew told reporters.
Ontario’s Premier sent a letter to U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday warning that he would impose a 25-per-cent charge on the approximate $700-million in electricity that Ontario sends to New York, Michigan and Minnesota annually if the tariffs “persist” or if Mr. Trump imposes more trade penalties. He urged them to advocate for an end to the tariffs.
But it was unclear when any such electricity surcharge could be imposed: Mr. Ford’s Energy Minister has said the charge requires legislation, which cannot be passed until MPPs return to Queen’s Park in about two weeks, after last week’s election. The Premier said Tuesday he had asked Ontario’s top bureaucrat to look into ways of imposing the charge before then.
The Ontario Premier also made good on his threat to pull U.S. alcohol off the shelves of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, saying it would hit producers of American bourbon hard. The LCBO is one of the world’s largest single purchasers of alcohol, and sells just under $1-billion of U.S. booze a year.
And Mr. Ford said he was scrapping the province’s $100-million contract for rural and remote satellite internet with Starlink, a company controlled by billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk. But Mr. Ford said he did not know how much the move, which he first threatened weeks ago, would cost in break fees.
The Premier also suggested he could mandate retailers to identify Canadian-made and American-made goods on their shelves, if they don’t do it voluntarily, to make a consumer boycott of U.S. imports easier.
Canadian municipal leaders also reacted to the tariffs with statements and actions that ranged from the symbolic to the direct.
In Barrie, Ont., north of Toronto, Mayor Alex Nuttall said he had instructed city staff to remove all U.S. flags from municipal facilities. In Vaughan, Ont., Mayor Steven Del Duca said his was the first city in Ontario to ratify a policy banning American suppliers.
Vancouver’s council has already taken a similar step to reduce American purchases. Mayors in Winnipeg and Halifax announced plans to look at revising their cities’ procurement policies.
With reports from Laura Stone, Andrea Woo, Temur Durrani, Emma Graney and Frances Bula