Trump to Declare Emergency After Ontario Imposes Tariffs on Electricity Sold to US

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the 25 percent electricity tariffs will affect an estimated 1.5 million customers in three U.S. states.

Transmission towers that carry high-voltage electricity are show in East China Township, Mich., on March 8, 2025. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

President Donald Trump announced on March 11 that he is planning to declare a national emergency after Canada’s Ontario province placed a 25 percent tariff on electricity delivered to the United States.

This will allow the United States to “quickly do what has to be done to alleviate this abusive threat from Canada,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The president questioned the arrangement that allows Canadian companies to supply utility services to the U.S., with some customers in New York, Michigan, and Minnesota impacted by the tariffs.

“Why would our Country allow another Country to supply us with electricity, even for a small area? Who made these decisions, and why?” Trump wrote in a subsequent post that suggested retaliation is likely.

“And can you imagine Canada stooping so low as to use electricity, that so affects the life of innocent people, as a bargaining chip and threat? They will pay a financial price for this so big that it will be read about in history books for many years to come!”

Trump instructed U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to impose tariffs ranging from 25 percent to 50 percent, on top of existing fees, on all steel and aluminum products coming from Canada, beginning March 12.

U.S.-imposed tariffs on cars imported from Canada are set to take effect April 2 and will “permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada,” according to Trump’s statement.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford railed against the U.S. trade policies and said the electricity tariffs, which he estimated will generate $400,000 in daily revenue and affect 1.5 million U.S. customers, will remain in effect.

“President Trump launched an unprovoked trade and tariff war with America’s closest friend and ally,” he wrote on March 11 on the social media platform X. “Until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, we won’t back down.”

The premier blamed the use of tariffs for recent stock market volatility.

“President Trump’s tariffs are a disaster for the U.S. economy,“ Ford wrote. They’re making life more expensive for American families and businesses.”

Trump has suggested the best solution is for Canada to join the United States.

“The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished fifty-first state,” he wrote. “This would make all tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.”

The president said taxes for everyday Canadians would drop, the northern border problems would cease, and “the greatest and most powerful nation in the world will be bigger, better and stronger than ever—and Canada will be a big part of that.”