Ontario rips up Starlink deal, plans to add energy surcharge in response to tariffs

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This article was published 04/03/2025 (206 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Ontario will ban American companies from $30 billion worth of procurement contracts, rip up a $100-million Starlink deal and eradicate U.S. booze in its first wave of retaliations against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday.

Ford said he will also soon impose a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity that the province sends to 1.5 million Americans in several states, and has threatened to cut off power altogether if U.S. tariffs remain place into April.

He also threatened to surcharge or cut off critical mineral exports to the U.S. should the trade war linger.

“We also need to be ready to dig in for a long fight,” Ford said. “We need to be ready to escalate using every tool in our tool kit.”

Trump imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on Canadian goods and a lower 10 per cent levy on energy. The federal government has responded with a suite of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, under direction from Ford, will stop buying and selling American alcohol immediately.

“We have to make sure we diversify and make sure that the provinces, municipalities, and the federal government buy Ontario and, secondly, buy Canadian if we can’t make it here in Ontario,” Ford said.

Ontario is uniquely positioned to quickly make U.S. alcohol scarce. The LCBO is the sole purchaser for all American alcohol across the province and imports $965 million worth of booze annually, with more than 3,600 American products from 36 states on its shelves.

The LCBO website was temporarily down on Tuesday while those products are being removed. At one downtown Toronto liquor store, staff cleared American whiskey, vodka and wine from the shelves and posted signs that read, “For the good of Ontario. For the good of Canada.”

The LCBO is also the province’s main alcohol distributor, which means grocery and convenience stores, bars and restaurants and other retailers will no longer be able to buy U.S. alcohol.

“Our in-store teams can help customers find alternative products from our extensive selection of products from Ontario, Canada, and around the world,” the LCBO said in a statement.

The premier said American companies will not be able to bid on the $30 billion worth of procurement contracts the province awards each year, or bid on contracts related to his $200-billion infrastructure plan to build highways, tunnels, transit, hospitals and jails.

“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.”

Ford said the province will rip up the $100-million deal it signed with Elon Musk’s SpaceX last year to provide high-speed Starlink internet to northern Ontario, rural and remote First Nation communities.

“It’s done, it’s gone,” Ford said.

“We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province, province and our country.”

Ford added that he wants to get rid of free trade barriers between provinces, speed up infrastructure and mineral extraction approvals and build oil and gas pipelines “east, west and north.”

Trump is targeting Ontario’s auto sector, saying he doesn’t want or need Canadian cars and would prefer they be made in Detroit.

Trump himself signed the most recent free trade deal with Canada and Mexico, saying in 2020 it was “the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA.”

Now he wants to rip that deal up.

Ford said the tariffs will have a nearly immediate impact on automotive assembly plants on both sides of the border.

“The assembly lines in the auto sector will shut down within 10 days, I predict,” he said.

Ford tried to calm an anxious Canadian public, but said tough times are ahead.

“The coming days and weeks will be hard,” he said.

“Businesses and families will feel the pain of this needless fight, but together we’re going to stand up for Canada. We’re going to get through this more united than ever before.”

— With files from Maan Alhmidi.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2025.