Photo credit: MPR
In a continued drive to show that the United States does not have a monopoly on tariffs, the Ontario government is imposing a 25 per cent surcharge on US-bound electricity as part of its retaliatory measures against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.
CBC reports that the new levy took effect Monday and will add about $10 per megawatt-hour to the cost of power heading south, the province says. It will generate an estimated $300,000 to $400,000 per day. The money will be used to support workers and businesses hit by US tariffs.
Premier Doug Ford regretted having to impose the tariffs at a news conference. He said, “I feel terrible for the American people because it’s not the American people who started this trade war. It’s one person who’s responsible, that’s President Trump.”
Ontario provides electricity to roughly 1.5 million customers in the northern border states of New York, Michigan and Minnesota. According to Ford, the surcharge will cost the average household or business in these states an additional $100 per month on their power bills.
He added that his previous threat to stop electricity flows from Ontario to the US altogether if the trade war lingers on.
He encouraged other provinces to look at similar moves
