President Trump threatened to slap 50% tariffs on Canadian cars, auto parts, and steel after trade negotiations with Ottawa fell apart, prompting Ontario Premier Doug Ford to warn he could cut off electricity to more than a million American homes and businesses.
The exchange escalated sharply on Monday, days after Washington imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian imports. A preliminary agreement that would have lowered U.S. tariffs on Canadian vehicles and metals to 15% collapsed over several unresolved issues, including disagreements involving medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Washington of making last-minute demands Canada could not accept.
Trump responded by announcing that tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, and auto parts would rise to 50% beginning January 1, 2027. He also threatened a 50% tariff on Canadian steel. In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused Canada of "ripping off the United States of America for years" and pointed to what he called Canada's "ridiculously high tariffs" on American farmers and farm products.
Ford fired back through Canadian media, warning that "everything is on the table" if the dispute worsens, including cutting off electricity and critical-mineral exports from Ontario to the United States.
Ontario exports electricity to customers in Michigan, Minnesota, and New York. Ford had already imposed a 25% surcharge on those exports during an earlier phase of the trade fight. On Monday he went further, telling reporters that Canada should be prepared to "throw everything and the kitchen sink" at the United States.
"We power 1.5 million homes and businesses," Ford said. He warned that if Trump continues trying to dismantle Canadian manufacturing, "he better have a pack of batteries."
Ford also declared: "You won't get a grain of sand out of Ontario."
The premier did not specify which critical minerals Ontario supplies to the United States, and it remains unclear whether his threats represent an official policy announcement or political posturing ahead of further negotiations.
The dispute did not stay on trade policy. Trump used Truth Social to compare Ford unfavorably to his late brother Rob Ford, the former Toronto mayor, calling Doug Ford the "less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother." Trump also called Ford a "Flunky" engaged in "lots of 'bluster.'"
Trump wrote that the United States was "far bigger, richer, and stronger than Canada" and warned that without the United States, "Canada couldn't survive." He told Canadian leaders to "fall in line" or face consequences that would be "far WORSE."
"America has been carrying Canada for decades, but no longer!... WE DON'T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!"
Trump also declared: "Canada will be treated like a State no longer!"
Ford responded in kind. He accused Trump of being "arrogant" and "cocky," and told Canadian media: "He can kiss my a** as far as I'm concerned."
Ford also invoked Ronald Reagan, saying the former president would be "disgusted with President Trump" over his trade policies and suggesting Trump should remove a portrait of Reagan displayed near his desk.
Prime Minister Carney pledged dollar-for-dollar retaliation beginning September 8. He pointed to Washington's last-minute demands as the reason the preliminary deal fell through, though neither Carney nor other Canadian officials specified publicly what those demands were.
Trump, for his part, pointed to the flow of electricity, oil, and gas between the two countries, an acknowledgment that the economic relationship cuts both ways, even as he insisted the balance favors Canada far more than the United States.
Several questions remain unanswered. Beyond the medium- and heavy-duty truck disagreements, the full list of issues that sank the preliminary deal has not been made public. The current tariff rate on Canadian vehicles and metals before the threatened 50% increase also remains unclear from the available statements. And whether Ford's 25% electricity surcharge from the earlier round of the trade fight is still in effect has not been addressed.
What is clear: $20 billion in Canadian imports already face 50% tariffs. Another round covering autos and steel is set for January 2027. And Canada's retaliatory timeline begins in weeks, not months.
Trade disputes between allies are nothing new. But when the rhetoric moves faster than the policy, the people left holding the bill are the workers, farmers, and ratepayers on both sides of the border who never asked for the fight.
