Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced a series of retaliatory measures in response to new U.S. tariffs, including removing American alcohol from the LCBO, tearing up a contract with Starlink, and potentially imposing surcharges on electricity and critical minerals exported to the United States.
The tariffs, imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier today, target all Canadian exports and goods. Ford framed his response as a defense of Ontario’s economy, warning that American businesses and workers would bear the brunt of the fallout.
“This is an enormous hit to the American producers,” Ford said speaking to reporters. “We need to be ready to dig into a long fight... I will fight like I never fought before.”
Here’s a full breakdown of what else the province is targeting.
LCBO to stop selling U.S. alcohol
Starting today, effective immediately, the LCBO, one of the world’s largest purchasers of alcohol, will begin removing all U.S. products from store shelves.
Ford said the move extends to LCBO catalogues, meaning bars, restaurants, and retailers across Ontario will no longer be able to restock American brands.
“Every year, the LCBO sells nearly $1 billion worth of U.S. wine, beer, cider, seltzers, and spirits, including more than 3,600 products from 35 states,” he said. “Starting today, every single one of these products is off the shelves.”
Province-wide procurement ban
Ford also announced a sweeping ban on U.S.-based companies participating in government procurement.
He notes Ontario and its agencies spend approximately $30 billion annually on procurement, a revenue stream American firms will now be cut off from.
“U.S.-based businesses will now lose out on tens of billions of dollars in revenues,” Ford said. “They only have President Trump to blame.”
He also called on all 444 municipalities across Ontario to follow suit and implement similar bans at the local level.
Ontario axes Elon Musk’s Starlink contract
As part of the procurement crackdown, Ford said Ontario is cancelling its $100 million contract with Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
“It’s done. It’s gone,” Ford said. “We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country.”
He also said that he’s ordered the Ontario Public Service to go through the province’s contracts “with a fine tooth comb” to find other U.S. contracts that can be axed.
He said he’s not yet sure how much it will cost to cancel those deals, but said it’s important to inflict as much pain as possible on U.S. businesses in response to the tariffs.
Tariffs on critical minerals and electricity
Ford warned that Ontario is prepared to escalate its response if the U.S. does not reverse course, including imposing a 25 per cent tariff on electricity exports to the U.S.
“We need to be ready to dig into a long fight,” Ford said. “That includes surcharges or even outright restrictions on the critical minerals and electricity we supply to the United States.”
He indicated that Ontario could go forward with the electricity surcharges if a second round of tariffs take effects in April.
He urged other premiers to follow Ontario’s lead and implement similar retaliatory measures.
‘We will spare no expense’
Ford positioned his response as a fight for Ontario jobs and economic security, vowing to support businesses in adapting to new markets.
“We will spare no expense to protect Ontario workers for new jobs,” he said. “We’ll retool companies for new customers and new markets.”
