Canadians aren’t playing around.
Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, says Canada is willing to go much further in the escalating trade war with the US than President Donald Trump realizes.
“We can put massive pain on the US,” Ford told reporters during a searing press conference on Monday. “President Trump underestimates us, and that’s the biggest mistake: underestimating your opponent.”
If the trade war continues to ramp up, Ford said “everything’s on the table,” including electricity, critical minerals, and fuel. He added that Canadian premiers, who lead Canada’s 10 provinces, needed to work together to put pressure on the US.
“We need everyone to be on Team Canada and throw everything and the kitchen sink at them,” he said.
Trump’s latest round of tariffs on Canada took effect on Saturday after talks between the North American allies fell through. The tariffs impact a range of Canadian goods, from alcohol and hockey equipment to paper and construction materials.
Canada supplies electricity to the US via cross-border transmission lines. In 2025, Canada exported $3.3 billion worth of electricity to the US, according to Canadian government figures.
Over 20 states import electricity from Canada, with New York, Michigan, Washington, Minnesota, and North Dakota among the largest importers, according to Canadian export data from June. New York and Michigan were the largest importers of electricity from Ontario.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Ford said he could cut off electricity exports from Ontario to the US entirely. “Up here, we’re at a fever pitch; everyone’s in for an economic war,” he told AP. “They know they’re going to have to sacrifice.”
During the press conference, Ford pointed to several other Canadian products imported by the US that could be leveraged in the trade dispute, including oil, nickel, uranium, and potash.
“He wants to put pain on Canadians? We’ll leverage every bit of pain we possibly can on Americans,” he said.
Ford also doubled down on a comment he made earlier on Monday during a radio interview in which he said Trump can “kiss my ass.”
Trump has also ramped up his rhetoric and threats in the trade war. The president said Monday that starting January 1, 2027, tariffs on cars, trucks, auto parts, and steel would be increased to 50%. Trump also called out Ford directly.
“Lots of ‘bluster’ from Doug Ford, who is the Premier of the Canadian Province of Ontario, but who is better known as the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Tensions between the US and Canada have been strained since early 2025, when Trump levied broad tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico.
Canadians responded by boycotting some US goods and avoiding travel to the US. The latest tariffs have renewed calls for Canadians to boycott American goods.
Canada is expected to announce its own retaliatory tariffs on the US. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the country will match US tariffs “dollar-for-dollar” starting September 8.
