‘It’s done, it’s gone’: Canadian Premier rips contract with Starlink in light of Trump tariffs
In an address to Canadians, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a retaliatory, non-tariff measure against the United States. This is in response to President Donald Trump’s 25% blanket tariffs on all Canadian goods on Tuesday.
Ford announced that liquor from the United States has been taken off major retailers shelves and will not be restocked. But this was just one measure that will hurt businesses from the United States. He added, “Also, starting today, all US-based companies will be banned from taking part in government procurement.”
These are government contracts that will cost American businesses billions of dollars in missed opportunities. “They only have President Trump to blame,” Ford said about the non-tariff measure. He spurred other municipalities to do the same. But in this government-wide procurement ban, Trump’s closest ally and “first buddy” is also going to take a hit.
“We’re going one step further. We’re ripping up Ontario’s contract with Starlink,” Ford said in the announcement. “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.” These sharp comments are directed to Starlink CEO Elon Musk, who is ironically also a Canadian citizen. Musk is Trump’s largest campaign donor. But more importantly, he has been unofficially advising Trump as a “special government employee.”
While a few million dollars might not hurt Musk, the principle behind it stands. Other American businesses, on the other hand, will shoulder the brunt of this trade war. If Trump is rather detached from regular Americans, perhaps he wouldn’t be able to ignore the complaints of the entrepreneurial class.
Turning the lights off
Those in support of Canada praised Doug Ford for his bold speech. One X user pushed him to do more, tweeting, “Yes!! Now turn out those lights, Doug!”
Earlier this year, Ford threatened to embargo power imports to several US states if Trump pushes through with the tariffs. Now with the tariffs in place, Ford confirmed that he will follow through with the chilling yet potentially persuasive response. “If they want to try and annihilate Ontario, I will do everything—including cutting off their energy—with a smile on my face.” This threat will apply if Trump puts additional tariffs on top of existing ones.
Regardless, Canadians—even those normally opposed to Ford—are in agreement with the Ontario premier. “Being from Ontario, I don’t like Ford,” said one YouTube commenter who claimed to be from Ford’s province. “I voted, but I didn’t vote for him. But as a Canadian, I agree with everything he said today.”
The fight will be long and hard, and Ford admits to that. Nevertheless, Ford promised to protect citizens and communities who will be impacted by the trade war.
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