Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, is adding a 25% surcharge to all electricity exports sent to the U.S. as part of retaliation against the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canadian products.
The 25% surcharge will be effective as of March 10, and will affect consumers and businesses in Michigan, Minnesota and New York, the province said in a Monday statement. The new fee will add as much as $400,000 Canadian dollars ($277,000) in daily costs for 1.5 million U.S. homes and businesses, it added.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford estimated it will add about CA$100, or $69 a month, to the bills of each American affected.
On March 8, Ford told CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe that President Trump’s tariff plan was creating “mass chaos,” and added that a trade war between the U.S. and Canada was “unacceptable.” During the interview, he also said that while he has a great relationship with the governments of Michigan, Minnesota and New York, he planned to impose a 25% surcharge on energy products starting March 10 unless the trade dispute came to an end.
“President Trump’s tariffs are a disaster for the U.S. economy. They’re making life more expensive for American families and businesses,” Premier Doug Ford said in Monday’s statement. “Until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, Ontario won’t back down. We’ll stand strong, use every tool in our toolkit and do whatever it takes to protect Ontario.”
On Monday, the Michigan Public Service Commission said it was concerned about the surcharge, “including both pricing and reliability concerns.”
“While the vast majority of Michigan’s electricity is either produced by the electric utilities or purchased under long-term power contracts, the imposition of these tariffs could have some impact on prices in the regional energy markets, though the ultimate impact on Michigan customers is likely to be small,” the regulatory agency said in a statement.
Mr. Trump’s 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico went into effect last week, although on Thursday he said he would delay
the levies by one month, until April 2. On Monday, Ford said Ontario’s electricity surcharge would remain in place despite the one-month reprieve from Trump, noting a one-month pause means nothing but more uncertainty.
On March 8, Ford told CBS News that Mr. Trump has declared “an economic war on his closest friends.”
Ford’s office said the new market rules require any generator selling electricity to the U.S. to add a 25% surcharge. Ontario’s government expects it to generate revenue of CA$300,000 ($208,000) to CA$400,000 ($277,000) per day, “which will be used to support Ontario workers, families and businesses.”
The new surcharge is in addition to Canada’s initial CA$30 billion’s ($21 billion’s) worth of retaliatory tariffs have been applied on items like American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.
