Canada Not Ruling Out Cutting Off Energy Exports in Response to US Tariff Threat, Joly Says

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly speaks to reporters at the Liberal caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C., on Sept. 10, 2024. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Ottawa has not ruled out any measures in weighing the response to tariffs by incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, including cutting off energy exports to the country.

“What I can tell you is everything is on the table,” Joly told CTV News on Jan. 12 when asked whether the government was open to cutting off energy supplies to the country.

Joly said Canada’s potential response to Trump’s threats of 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian exports would be discussed with cabinet officials, and that she would relay the outcome of the conversation to “Republican senators and key Republican decision-makers in Washington next week.”

“For those who are watching us right now, it is important to understand that the threat is real and we’re acting on it, and that’s why I’m calling every political leader in this country to be on board. Because this is not time for division, this is not time for weakness,” she added.

Joly noted the Liberal government had experienced tariffs during the first Trump administration, when the United States put tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum in 2018. Joly said Ottawa had responded in a “very specific, very surgical” way, but that the new threat of 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian exports meant the government needed to “put everything on the table” in response.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford previously said in December 2024 that his province could cut off energy supplies to the states of Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin in response to the tariffs, calling it a “last resort” measure. In 2023, Ontario powered 1.5 million homes in the United States, exporting 13.9 million megawatt-hours of electricity to the country.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Quebec Premier François Legault, and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey subsequently said they were not in favour of cutting off energy exports to the United States.

Ottawa has been mulling retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products, including ceramics, steel products, glassware, and plastics, among others.

While Trump first threatened 25 percent tariffs on Canada back in November, he has recently escalated his rhetoric around the U.S.-Canada relationship. Trump has repeatedly mused about Canada becoming the “51st state,” and on Jan. 7 he talked about using “economic force” to merge the two countries. In response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was not a “snowball’s chance in hell” that Canada would become part of the United States.

On Jan. 6, Trudeau announced that he will resign as prime minister after the Liberal Party chooses a replacement. Joly announced on Jan. 10 that she would not run for the Liberal party leadership, as she planned to focus on her cabinet role in light of the tariff threat.