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It’s a little known fact that we Americans get quite a bit of our electricity from Canada.Unfortunately, our friendly neighbors to the north are currently considering cutting off the electricity flow if a certain future president goes through with his plan to impose heavy tariffs on their country.
A less friendly proposal was offered this week by Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, Canada’s second-largest province. Ford, who revealed the information during a conversation with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday, said he would limit electricity exports to Michigan, New York and Minnesota if Donald Trump will follow through on his threat to impose tariffs on Canada.
According to the Associated Press“It’s a last resort,” Ford said. “I don’t think President-elect Trump wants that to happen. We’re sending a message to the United States. If you come and attack Ontario, attack the livelihoods of Ontario and Canadians, we will use every tool in our toolbox to protect Ontarians and Canadians. Let’s hope it never comes to that.”
Ford also says it’s considering restricting exports of certain minerals that are vital to the production of electric vehicle batteries, because both of these things could have a negative impact on electric vehicle manufacturers in the U.S., which would be especially bad. For Trump’s political ally, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Ford was also considering restricting Canadian alcohol exports to the US
An analysis The Electric Information Administration notes that the U.S. and Canada have an interconnected energy system, with physical cables supplying power to many communities on both sides of the national border. the dynamics have changed somewhat: in 2023, sales of electricity from Canada to the US amounted to about $3.2 billion. Last year, Ontario supplied electricity to about 1.5 million US households, according to the Associated Press.
A series before the election warned economists that if Trump were to go through with his plan to impose massive tariffs on countries around the world, it would have a huge, potentially disastrous impact on Americans’ pockets “bargaining” strategy, which is designed to elicit political and economic concessions from the countries it targets. “I think the president will use them as a bargaining chip, I think that’s important for everyone to remember,” said former National Economic Council director Larry Lindsay. recent conversation with Fox News. “It’s how the deal works out in the end that will determine whether it was a successful strategy,” he said.
I’m not sure how great a “bargaining” tactic it is if you openly admit that Trump has no intention of following through on his threat, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see if the incoming president can, as his; the book is popular– make a deal.
