Ford pitches ambitious energy plan in effort to stave off Trump tariffs

Lucas Powers · CBC News

· Posted: Jan 08, 2025 10:02 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Premier Doug Ford is pitching an enhanced energy partnership between Canada and the U.S. as part of a broader effort to stave off tariff threats from president-elect Donald Trump.

Speaking at the Darlington nuclear generating station Wednesday, Ford outlined his vision for a “renewed strategic alliance” that he says would see increased exports of Canadian energy south of the border and a more integrated electrical grid.

Ford said the proposed partnership would help North America obtain energy security as the U.S. “decouples from China and its global proxies.

“This won’t be easy. It will require long-term thinking. It will require dedication. And most of all, it will require friends and allies. Canada is here to help,” Ford said.

“Working together, Canada and the U.S. can be the richest, most successful, safest, most secure countries on the planet.”

The sweeping plan would include fast-tracked approvals for new large nuclear plants and small modular nuclear reactors, the province said in a news release. A proposed working group of Canadian and U.S. lawmakers and industry experts would also explore ways to cut red tape to speed up construction of cross-border energy infrastructure like transmission lines and pipelines.

Trump has said he intends to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods after he re-takes office later this month, unless Canada tightens border security, with an emphasis on fentanyl trafficking and illegal crossings.

Economists have warned such a move would pose an existential threat to several key industries in Ontario.

“These tariffs would be devastating for both of our economies,” Ford said Wednesday. “They would disrupt deeply integrated supply chains, create massive uncertainty for investors, raise costs for businesses and put countless jobs at risk on both sides of the border.”

Trump has also repeatedly mused about attempting to make Canada the “51st state,” saying as recently as Tuesday that he is willing to use “economic force” to absorb Canada into the U.S. Trump also said the U.S. does not need anything from Canada.

That rhetoric was met with unanimous condemnation from Canadian political leaders at all levels, including Ford, who doubled down on Wednesday.

“Our country is not for sale. It will never be for sale,” Ford said. “Let’s stop wasting time and ridiculous ideas about merging and instead focus our efforts on restoring the pride of made in Canada and made in the U.S.A.”

This is the latest pitch from Ford in response to the tariff threats, after announcing a plan on Tuesday to beef up patrols along the 14 border crossings in Ontario.

Meanwhile, the provincial Liberals are calling on Ford to recall the legislature and establish an all-party committee to address the tariff threat while “unequivocally” ruling out an early election call. 

“We need the premier to be serious right now. He needs to lead, he needs to work with other people. He needs to bring people together,” Liberal MPP John Fraser told reporters at a news conference Wednesday. 

“That’s not what you do during election. An election, it’s a competition. It creates uncertainty. It’s a battle.”

NDP Leader Marit Stiles also said Ontario doesn’t need the “instability” of a provincial election right now, but said she was ready to work with anyone, including Ford, to protect Ontario jobs. 

“These are serious, existential threats. When Canadian jobs and our livelihoods are at risk, we need to work together to fight back,” Stiles said in an emailed statement. 

As the chair of the Council of the Federation, Ford has been on the forefront of the ongoing effort to prevent Trump’s tariff threat from becoming a reality.

In December, he said he would consider cutting off Ontario’s energy supply to several U.S. states, including parts of New York, Michigan and Wisconsin as retaliation for tariffs. He has also encouraged the federal government — currently in turmoil after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this week he intends to resign — to assemble a list of retaliatory measures Canada could take to dissuade the incoming administration from imposing stiff tariffs.

WATCH | Are Trump’s threats to annex Canada serious? 

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is threatening to use ‘economic force’ to annex Canada, but is he serious or is this just another negotiating tactic? The National’s Adrienne Arsenault puts the question to two former ambassadors.

Ford has been regularly appearing on American cable news programs during prime time, stressing the longtime economic and cultural relationship between Canada and the U.S. Meanwhile, his government is spending tens of millions of dollars on a U.S. ad campaign touting those historical ties.

Ford and Canada’s other provincial and territorial leaders are set to hold a virtual meeting with Trudeau later Wednesday to discuss the prime minister’s pending resignation and Parliament’s prorogation, the tariff threat and a premiers’ trip to Washington, D.C. in February.