Western Standard - Doug Ford Tells Trump to ＂Kiss My Ass＂—Bad Strategy？

00:00:00.000 Doug Ford has decided that apparently the trade war isn't escalating quickly enough.

00:00:04.800 Ford says that Canada can put quote-unquote massive pain on the United States.

00:00:09.980 He says Donald Trump is making a mistake by underestimating Canadians.

00:00:14.080 He says everything is on the table.

00:00:16.180 Electricity, critical minerals, oil, uranium, potash, fuel.

00:00:20.460 He says the premiers should get together and throw everything and the kitchen sink at the Americans.

00:00:25.980 And that brings us to perhaps my favorite line. 1.00

00:00:29.400 Donald Trump can kiss Ford's ass. 1.00

00:00:31.800 That's the Premier of Ontario, 1.00

00:00:33.880 the province with the largest manufacturing sector in Canada,

00:00:37.520 the centre of the Canadian automotive industry,

00:00:40.460 the province whose economic fortunes are perhaps more closely connected

00:00:43.860 to the American economy than anywhere else in the country.

00:00:48.300 And Doug Ford is standing there essentially saying,

00:00:50.600 economic war? Bring it on.

00:00:52.920 What could possibly go wrong?

00:00:55.640 Well, Doug, quite a lot.

00:00:57.380 take electricity ford says ontario could cut off electricity exports to the united states

00:01:03.220 sounds tough until you ask the obvious question then what canada exported about 3.3 billion worth

00:01:11.360 of electricity to the united states last year more than 20 states import some canadian electricity

00:01:16.540 and new york and michigan are the major customers for ontario power so yes ontario can hurt them

00:01:22.600 Of course it can. Prices would increase in some markets. Utilities would have to adjust.

00:01:27.080 Alternative generation would have to come online. There would be disruption, but they're not going

00:01:32.180 to turn Manhattan off. They're not going to shut Detroit down. The United States produces vastly

00:01:37.240 more electricity than the Canada exports to it. The Americans adjust. Eventually they replace what

00:01:42.760 we sell them. And then congratulations, Premier Ford, you have transformed a reliable Canadian

00:01:47.520 export market into an american national security vulnerability what do you think washington does

00:01:53.360 next do you think they say boy those canadians sure showed us we'd better become even more

00:02:00.400 dependent on ontario electricity of course not they build around us they develop alternatives

00:02:06.160 they change regulations they increase domestic production they build generation they build

00:02:11.040 transmission they find another supplier wherever possible and the temporary leverage you had

00:02:18.640 becomes permanently less valuable.

Western Standard - September 03, 2026