Summary
Canadian leaders, particularly Ontario Premier Doug Ford, are considering retaliatory measures against Trump’s tariff threats, including restricting U.S. alcohol imports and cutting electricity exports to 1.5 million American homes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has remained relatively calm despite Trump’s provocations, but Ontario’s response signals rising tensions.
Analysts warn that Trump’s tariff policies could provoke significant economic retaliation from Canada, disrupting key cross-border energy supplies and trade.
The situation highlights the potential fallout from escalating U.S.-Canada trade disputes under the incoming administration.
Good for Ontario. The first step to countering whats going on in the US is to reject their narrative and framing in more or less everything, and draw your own. Each person has to do this, and Ontario doing it first certainly makes a pattern for the rest of us to follow. We’ve let them define the language and terms around politics for far too long, and we need regime change from our abysmal two party oligarchy system.
I can’t stand Ford, but this would be a good move.
I guess NAFTA is dead.
Won’t this just get the orange to push even more for drilling and further harm the environment and climate?
Won’t this just get the orange to push even more for drilling and further harm the environment and climate?
It’s up to the oil companies whether they drill more and they don’t want to because it would cause prices to go down.
“I don’t know that there’s an opportunity to unleash a lot of production in the near term… I don’t think today that production in the U.S. is constrained.” - ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods (source)
True. And there’s only so much the US can do. At the end of the day, OPEC can just raise or lower production to destroy any US policy.
We’re a net exporter of oil now - 10.15 million bbl per day vs 8.51 imported. And now only 16% of that comes from OPEC countries vs 52% from Canada. tl;dr OPEC has nowhere near the influence on our oil prices it once had.
The margin of profit on tar sands oil is razor thin. So Canada needs to be kept happy or we’re back under Saudi Arabias sway. Trump will not keep Canada happy.
100%
Maybe not the same influence they once had, but every one of those producers can destroy the market on their own if they wanted to. That said, oil will overall be far less important over the coming decades as transportation and manufacturing move away from fossil fuels. Europe is very far along the way on that already.
“…but every one of those producers can destroy the market on their own if they wanted to.”
Depending on what you mean by “destroy the market” that doesn’t make any sense.
The rest I totally agree with.
What I mean by that is that if OPEC (or any of the other big producers) decided to cut all of their production for a long period of time (e.g. a year), it would completely destroy the world market and the other players would be able to do nothing about it. It would simply take so much supply away that prices would go crazy.
…it would completely destroy the world market
I have to disagree with that, both the premise that they would and the result.
It would simply take so much supply away that prices would go crazy.
Is that what you mean by “destroy the market”? Because if prices “go crazy” the oil companies make bank and the reduced production doesn’t matter, to them anyway. In addition, this would push EV and renewables adoption pretty hard and since those are now extremely viable alternatives, cutting production to raise prices, as OPEC has done for decades, would not have the effect it used to.
I didn’t vote for him and I’ll be fine, but I know a few people who voted for him who won’t be.
As an American I entirely support this move. No matter what we’re gonna have a shit 4 years and hopefully the worse it is the less credibility they’ll have heading into the next two elections.
Depends entirely on who the dems float as their next direction. If its Shpapiro or Blinken or Harris again then we’re just as boned-- 4, 8,and 16 years from now as we are today. It needs to be someone truly progressive and not under the old guard DNC’s corrupt thumb. Theres still an entire court system to make neutral again – we dont have the time for slimy centrist deal makers making halfwitted deals while climate, health care, the economy, elections, justice, and the western alliance are actively on fire and dying every day.
That’s be nice but the propaganda is such that they get to blame everyone else even when they’re in power. My bet is the worse they crash the country, the harder they’ll double down, and the more tolerance their base will have for them to do truly heinous shit to the groups they vilify (ie trans people and immigrants)
As an American from a state trying to import more Canadian hydro, yeah
I fucken hate Trump so much. Literally no reason to do this shit except to weaken US trade.
Exactly. Want to fight China? Do it together with other allies and put tariffs on things you actually produce yourself and don’t want China to get competitive edge on, like for example EVs.
If you fight with allies you are weakening yourself and make China stronger.
China is already ahead on EV production and adoption.
The US has space and AI and the latter hasn’t produced anything meaningful, besides accelerating enshittification.
You think turnip can think that far? All he’s worried about is his image, and if people cheer for him when doing [insert any fucking moronic thing you can think about], his base will cheer him on.
You think turnip can think that far?
Trump is just Putin’s hand-puppet muppet. I imagine Putin can think that far ahead.
It makes a lot more sense when you accept that he’s purposely serving Putin. As if by coercion.
As a nation we decided to fuck around; it’s time we found out.
I’m really hoping the rest of the world follows Canada’s thinking here and just doesn’t put up with the US’s bullshit. 4 years of standing in the corner with a dunce hat is exactly what we need.
How dumb is Trump that he doesn’t understand basic trade? We have X. Canada has Y. We exchange one for the other. Add or subtract from the deal for the other guy and the same will happen for you.
Where are the people who will lose on that energy transfer?
We have X. Canada has Y.
X’s and Y’s? I’m having high school flashbacks over here. I dont know whether to orgasm or cry.
You’re referring to a guy who has made a fairly successful* career ripping people off and not paying his bills.
* Success as measured by the fact that a) he’s not in jail and 2) he’s the potus… again.
I thought Elon Musk was POTUS by proxy.
Are we saying Former Husband to Pop Star Grimes is the real President? Cause I imagine that would annoy Trump.
The goal is to collapse the system.
To answer your last question. Everyone.
Article said 1.5 million.
1.5 million powered by ontario, so the people in ontario lose to. If quebec follows suit, then more people suffer.
Good. Fuck trump. Fuck us for voting him in. We deserve this.
As the old saying goes: it seems like Canada has been talking softly, but carrying a big stick.
More like a big switch. ;-)
Exports of electricity to the United States, millions of megawatt-hours
2022
Quebec 22.6
Ontario 15.7
BC 12.1
Manitoba 10.4
Ontario’s powers 1.5 million houses. That’s about 6 million houses total.
Huh, it’s interesting that all but Ontario are predominantly Hydro on that list Ontario’s Nuclear 1st, then Hydro.
Source if anyone’s interested, can go into specific provinces.
Ontario happens to have been where a lot of joijt research facilities for nuclear energy were started. The US and Canada invested a lot of money into southern ontario nuclear plants and enrichment centres during and after ww2.
The other provinces have great geography that allows for Hydro to work. Ontario happens to be really geologically stable so it’s prime real-estate for Nuclear plants.
trumpi is just pen-testing at the moment. seeing where he can grift the most, and where people will resist. Ford and Trudeau know that the US has lots to lose, and they are making that clear to trumpi, i.e., Go ahead and shoot yourself in the foot if you want to, but Canadians won’t suffer for your foolishness. Always stand up to bullies.
Meanwhile, the CAQ in Quebec is kissing his ass. Absolutely shameful. No wonder they’re the least popular elected provincial party in Canada. I can’t wait for the next elections to kick them to the curb.
Yeah, the last election’s results were devastating. Now, most people seem to be sick of Legault.
To be replaced by the corrupted liberals or the xenophobic pq. We are doomed.
I gotta buy more Bills Zubaz-patterned Labatt’s cans before they get Tariffed away …
