Ontario Premier Doug Ford has pulled the plug on a massive $100 million deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink in response to the U.S. President’s tariffs.
According to CBC, Ford announced that the province had scrapped its contract with Musk’s satellite internet company as part of the ongoing North American trade dispute.
He also declared that moving forward, U.S.-based companies would be barred from participating in provincial procurement, criticizing Trump for having “chosen chaos” over economic cooperation.
This decision follows a warning from the 60-year-old MPP, who had threatened to cut power to 1.5 million American customers after U.S. President Donald Trump announced what he called ‘catastrophic’ new tariffs on Canada.
Although there was a temporary 30-day halt on the plan, Trump has now officially approved a rollout of 25% tariffs on Canadian exports and a 10% tariff on Canadian energy.
Since returning to the White House in January, the 47th president has stated that China, Mexico, and Canada must be “held accountable for their promises to halt the flood of poisonous drugs into the US.”
Adding fuel to the fire, Trump suggested that the only way for Canada to avoid the tariffs would be to become a “cherished” 51st state.
Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, was founded by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who also leads the U.S. president’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force.
The company had only signed a deal with the province last November to deliver high-speed internet to 15,000 homes and businesses in rural and remote areas by this summer.
However, when questioned about the contract during a press conference on Tuesday (March 4), Ford stated: “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.
This decision follows Ontario’s main liquor wholesaler and retailer announcing that it will also stop purchasing and selling U.S. alcohol.
The Premier once again issued a warning about cutting off power to the U.S., telling lawmakers in New York, Michigan, and Minnesota that if the trade war “persists,” Ontario will impose a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to those states—and might even shut down the supply entirely.
Along the same lines, he also suggested the province could either tax or halt mineral exports to the U.S.
Ford stated: “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.”
Ontario officials are concerned that the import tariffs could severely impact key industries such as auto manufacturing and steel production while also driving up retail prices and worsening inflation.
Ford emphasized: “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.”
According to the Toronto Sun, Ford—who secured his third consecutive majority last week—had previously made an even stronger statement: “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.”
