Ford pitches Trump on grand energy plan in effort to avoid tariffs

BOWMANVILLE, Ont. — Ontario Premier Doug Ford is pitching U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on a vision to supply the two nations with energy, as he positions himself as the country’s protector amid a “lack of leadership” in Ottawa in the face of American tariff threats.

Ford wants to see the province’s grid expanded to allow more energy to be sent to the U.S.

The premier is trumpeting Ontario’s nuclear energy expertise to build more large and small modular nuclear reactors in partnership with the U.S.

“It won’t be easy and it won’t happen overnight, but we owe it to workers in Ontario, across Canada and the U.S. to act now,” Ford said.

“Many of these initiatives will require the federal government to step up to ensure that energy, trade, and security policies serve the best interests of Canadians and Americans alike.”

Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods on his first day in office on Jan. 20 unless Canada tightens border security, with an emphasis on fentanyl trafficking and illegal crossings.

Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. does not need anything from Canada and spoke about using “economic force” to annex the country to become the 51st state.

Ford said the country “will never be for sale.” The premier has been making the rounds on U.S. news channels, touting the benefits of the two countries working together.

The country’s premiers are set to to meet virtually later Wednesday to discuss Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation and Parliament’s prorogation, the tariff threat and a premiers’ trip to Washington, D.C. in February.

“Moving forward, there’s a lack of leadership right now at the federal government, and someone has to stand up for Ontario, someone has to stand up for Canada, and I want to congratulate all the premiers because they’re doing the exact same thing as what I’m doing in their jurisdictions,” Ford said.

He also dismissed Trump’s talk of annexing Canada.

“Let’s stop wasting time and ridiculous ideas about merging and instead focus on efforts on restoring the pride of made in Canada and made in the U.S.A,” he said.

Ford has previously threatened to cut off energy the province sells to four states should the tariffs be implemented, but said he does not want to do that.

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.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 8, 2025.

Allison Jones and Liam Casey, The Canadian Press