Ontario tariffs on electricity exports to the U.S. begin today

The Canadian province of Ontario announced it will move forward with a 25% retaliatory tariff on electricity exports to the United States, effective immediately.

It is expected to impact 1.5 million homes and businesses in Michigan, Minnesota and New York that receive electricity from exported energy.

“President [Donald] Trump’s tariffs are a disaster for the U.S. economy. They’re making life more expensive for American families and businesses,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford in a statement Monday.

Ford estimated the tariffs would mean an additional $69 monthly charge for consumers in the three states.

Ford said the tariffs will remain in place indefinitely, with the Ontario government promising that it will use “every tool at its disposal to protect Ontario workers and families from President Trump’s tariffs.”

This includes potentially increasing the surcharge at any time or, “if the U.S. escalates, cutting off electricity exports to the U.S. completely.”

“Until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, Ontario won’t back down,” Ford said. “We’ll stand strong, use every tool in our toolkit and do whatever it takes to protect Ontario.”

The 25-cent surcharge comes even after Trump walked back many of the tariffs on Canada and Mexico that were to go into effect last week. In a surprise move on Thursday, Trump granted temporary tariff relief to both nations by exempting goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement from tariffs until April 2.

Ontario anticipates the up-charge will bring in an additional $300,000-$400,000 Canadian dollars ($207,000-$277,000 U.S. dollars) every day it remains in place.

“For decades, Ontario has powered American homes, factories, offices and jobs, and we will not stand by as our vital electricity exports are taken for granted,” said Stephen Lecce, minister of energy and electrification.

Between 2021 and 2023, Ontario exported 14.6, 14.2 and 12.0 terawatt hours of electricity to the United States, with one transmission connection to Minnesota, four to Michigan and seven to New York.

Politicians in those states have been warning for weeks about the impact tariffs could have on the economy and prices.

In her State of the State address in late Feb., Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned the 25% tariffs would wreak “havoc” on Michigan.

Yet, it’s unclear the direct effect this tariff could have on Michigan consumers as both DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, two of Michigan’s largest energy companies, told Fox47 last week that they do not import electricity from Canada.