A Canadian Premier has just cancelled an eye-watering $100 million contract with Elon Musk in retaliation for the US President’s tariffs.
Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, Canada, has announced the province has shredded its contract with Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink in retaliation amid the North American trade battle, reports CBC.
Ford also stated he would ban all US-based companies from taking part in any further provincial procurement after slamming Trump for having ‘chosen chaos’ over shared prosperity.
The move comes as the 60-year-old MPP threatened to shut off power to 1.5 million US customers when American President Donald Trump announced new ‘catastrophic’ tariffs on the country.
There was a 30-day pause on the plans, but Trump signed off on the plan to roll out 25 percent tariffs on Canadian exports and 10 percent tariffs on Canadian energy this week.
The 47th POTUS said not long after returning to the White House in January that China, Mexico and Canada ought to be held ‘accountable for their promises to halt the flood of poisonous drugs into the US.’
Aggravating tensions, Trump said the only ‘solution’ for Canada to dodge the tariff would be to become a ‘cherished’ 51st state.
Starlink is a subsidiary of SpaceX, founded by tech billionaire mogul Musk, who also heads the US president’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force.
The company only signed a contract with the province in November last year to provide high-speed internet to 15,000 homes and businesses in rural and remote areas by summer this year.
But when asked about the contract at a press conference on Tuesday (March 4), Ford said: “It’s done, it’s gone.”
“We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country,” he added.
The decision comes after Ontario’s primary liquor wholesaler and retailer confirmed it would also no longer buy or sell US alcohol.
The Premier also reiterated his threat to switch off power in the US by warning lawmakers in New York, Michigan and Minnesota that if the trade war ‘persists’, Ontario will hike up a 25 percent surcharge on electricity flowing through the border state, and could pull the plug on the flow entirely.
In the same spirit, he also said the province could surcharge or cut off mineral exports to the US.
Ford said: “This is not the outcome anyone wanted.
“We could have poured our efforts into making Canada and the US the two richest, most successful, safest, most secure two countries on the planet. Unfortunately, one man — President Trump — has chosen chaos instead.”
The province fears the import levies could prompt a disaster in many vital Ontario industries, like auto manufacturing and steel production, while hiking retail prices and fanning the flames of inflation.
Ford added: “We also need to be ready to dig in for a long fight.
“We need to be ready to escalate using every tool in our tool kit.”
As per the Toronto Sun, Ford, who won a third majority last week, also previously said: “If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do anything, including cutting off their energy — with a smile on my face.
“They need to feel the pain. They want to come at us hard? We’ve got to go back twice as hard.”