Premier Doug Ford is set to make an energy-related announcement Wednesday, as Ontario faces U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tariff threat that could have devastating consequences for the province's economy.
Ford is scheduled to speak with Energy Secretary Stephen Lacey near the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station at 11 a.m. ET.
You can watch the news conference live on this news.
Trump has said he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian goods when he takes office later this month, a move that economists warn would threaten the existence of several key Ontario industries.
Trump has repeatedly weighed in on efforts to make Canada the “51st state,” most recently saying on Tuesday that he was willing to use “economic power” to integrate Canada into the U.S., a move that Canadian political leaders unanimously condemned. levels, including Ford.
As chairman of the Federation Council, Ford has been at the forefront of ongoing efforts to prevent Trump's tariff threat from becoming a reality.
In December, he said he would consider cutting Ontario's energy supply to several U.S. states, including parts of New York, Michigan and Wisconsin, in retaliation for the tariffs. He has also encouraged the federal government — currently in turmoil after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation this week — to assemble a list of countermeasures Canada could take to prevent the incoming administration from imposing tougher tariffs.
Ford has regularly appeared on prime-time US cable news programs touting the long-standing economic and cultural ties between Canada and the US, while his government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on US advertising campaigns touting those historic ties.
Ford and other Canadian provincial and territorial leaders are set to hold a virtual meeting with Trudeau later Wednesday to discuss the national response to Trump's threats.
