‘Prepared to use this tool’: Kinew hints Manitoba could fight back on U.S. tariffs

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This article was published 10/03/2025 (235 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba isn’t planning to follow Ontario’s lead of slapping a 25 per cent surcharge on hydroelectricity exports to the U.S. any time soon, Premier Wab Kinew said Monday.

“We’re talking about really, really big decisions when it comes to Manitoba Hydro — the crown jewel of our province,” Kinew told reporters.

Earlier in the day, Ontario Premier Doug Ford made good on his promise to apply a 25 per cent surcharge on all electricity exports to the U.S. in response to President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports.

Ontario’s electricity surcharge is part of the province’s initial suite of retaliatory measures. The Ontario government said Monday the move will affect 1.5 million homes and businesses in Michigan, Minnesota and New York, and cost up to $400,000 per day.

Kinew said the province isn’t ready to go that far — yet.

“We want to get it right. So we’ve been talking to Ontario to understand what they’re doing. We’ve been talking to leaders in the States, also, to let them know this is a really serious issue we’re facing with (tariffs) and we’re prepared to use this tool that we have with hydroelectricity exports, if needed.”

Kinew said Manitoba Hydro is expected to spend roughly $35 billion over the next two decades on goods required for maintenance and upgrades.

He said countries that may want to work well with Canada — such as South Korea — could benefit from that, while countries that don’t want to work together may not.

On March 4 — the day Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs were levied against most Canadian goods before being paused to April 2 — Manitoba Finance Minister Adrien Sala ordered the board of Manitoba Hydro to review its U.S. exports and not to make any deals or decisions without cabinet approval.

“This is a tool that we have at our disposal that we can use when the context makes sense,” Kinew said of Manitoba Hydro exports to the U.S.

“We continue to see these different deadlines being threatened by Donald Trump in the States — one this week that will in fact affect Manitoba.”

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A 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel imports is set to take effect Wednesday, impacting Manitoba companies and jobs, including the Gerdau steel mill in in Selkirk, Kinew said.

“We’ve got to stand up for our jobs. When it makes sense for us to use this tool in a way that will still protect Manitobans — we’ve got to keep hydro rates affordable at the same time.”

Manitoba has taken other measures to counter the U.S. tariffs, such as pulling American alcohol products from liquor store shelves and taking out advertisements to urge people to buy Canadian goods.

— with files from The Canadian Press

carol.sanders@ freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.