Tariffs threatened by president-elect Donald Trump against Canada will hurt the province of Ontario the most, the premier of the country's most populated province said this week, so all options must be considered should retaliation be required.
"We have to use all the tools possible," said Ontario premier Doug Ford in 13 January press conference, less than one week before Trump's inauguration and the potential imposition of 25pc tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. "We might have to do things that are unprecedented," which could include withholding shipments of minerals, Ford said.
Ontario accounts for about 40pc of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) and is known for its manufacturing, automotive and critical mineral industries.
Ford's position runs in contrast to comments made earlier by Alberta premier Danielle Smith that cutting off Canadian energy flows to the US is a non-starter and would not happen.
"Well, that's Danielle Smith, she's speaking for Alberta, she's not speaking for the country," Ford said. "I'm speaking for Ontario, that's going to get hurt a lot more. They aren't going to go after the oil, they're coming after Ontario."
"I want to ship him more critical minerals, I want to ship him more energy, but make no mistake about it, if they're coming full-tilt at us I won't hesitate to pull out every single tool we have until they can feel the pain," Ford said. "But that's the last thing I want to do."
Smith met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida over the weekend, which was a welcome move by Ford, who said he has been working the phones calling American politicians daily.
Even so, Canada's response needs to come from the federal government, which has so far been lacking, in Ford's view.
"This is their jurisdiction," said Ford. "They need to come up with a strong plan. They need to be doing everything, every single day to make sure we avoid these tariffs."
Premiers will meet with prime minister Justin Trudeau this week to strategize how to deal with potential tariffs. Trudeau said last week he planned to resign amid low polls and party infighting with a new leader to be chosen on 9 March.
