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.
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Kelsey is a senior reporter for Business Insider, where she covers business and tech news as well as stories about travel, luxury, and consulting.Her feature story "Disaster at 18,200 feet" received awards from the New York Press Club and the North American Travel Journalists Association, as well as honorable mention from the Society of American Travel Writers. It was also included on Longreads' and Pocket's best of 2022 lists. She has also received an American Journalism Online Award for her coverage on missing and murdered Indigenous people in Wyoming.She's appeared on CBS, NPR, NBC, and other outlets to discuss her work. She previously worked on the world news desk at the BBC in London and received a master's in journalism from Northwestern University.She can be reached by email at [email protected] or via the encrypted-messaging app Signal @kelseyv.21.Popular storiesDisaster on Denali: Inside a 1,000-foot fall on America's highest peakThrifting is more popular than ever. It's also never been worse.Rolex wouldn't service the vintage watch my mom inherited. Watchmakers say it happens all the time.A tiny, invasive bug and the climate crisis are changing how guitars are made, and shifting the course of music historyThe tourism free-for-all is overGovernment-run boarding schools were founded to 'civilize' Native Americans. Hundreds of dead children remain buried in the schoolyard graves.Meet the Texas minister who helps fly dozens of women to New Mexico every month to get abortionsPeople are flocking to Colorado for the great outdoors, but the air pollution is so bad, it's forcing many to stay insideInside Kabul: An aid worker reveals the devastating chaos that erupted during the US exit from Afghanistan
