TORONTO — Premier Doug Ford is threatening to cut off critical minerals and electricity exports to the United States and has told President Donald Trump he can “kiss my ass” after the latest escalation in the trade war.In a radio interview Monday morning, Ford responded to Trump’s new threat of 50% tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel starting next year by saying: “Well, he can kiss my ass, as far as I’m concerned.”He also suggested Canada should hit back by charging triple the price on oil, potash, uranium, metals and rare earth minerals heading south. “Maybe what we should be doing is charging him triple on the oil, triple on the potash, on the uranium, on our metals and our rare earth metals,” Ford said. “We need to throw everything in the kitchen sink at him.”Later in a Monday interview with The Associated Press, Ford said Ontario would not hesitate to use its strategic resources as leverage after Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from trade talks late Friday.“I’ll cut them off,” Ford said of critical minerals. “You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario.”.Ontario supplies high-grade nickel and refined uranium that American manufacturers and the U.S. military rely on. The province also exports electricity that helps power homes and industry in several U.S. states. Ford suggested Canada should also consider oil and potash as additional tools, declaring that “everything is on the table.”The comments mark a clear escalation. New 50% U.S. tariffs on roughly $28 billion of Canadian exports took effect Saturday after talks collapsed. Carney has promised dollar-for-dollar retaliation after Labour Day.Ford had already drawn a hard line days earlier. In a letter to Carney dated August 17, he warned that “no deal is better than a bad deal” that would only embolden further American demands. He called for a coordinated “tariff-for-tariff, dollar-for-dollar” response, the continuation of existing countermeasures, and additional levies targeting imports from politically significant U.S. states including Texas, Florida, Alabama and Wisconsin. He also urged Ottawa to treat electricity, energy and critical minerals as national leverage..On Saturday, Ford told reporters he was glad Carney rejected the proposed agreement after consulting auto and steel CEOs, auto-parts manufacturers and Unifor leadership. All had told him it was a bad deal for Ontario’s key industries.“I’m glad he didn’t sign that deal because it was a bad deal,” Ford said. “It was a bad deal for Ontario. It was a bad deal for the auto sector, the steel sector, and manufacturing sector.”He gave Carney direct credit for standing firm. “I want to give credit to the Prime Minister. He was in a very difficult position, but he stood up and he’s protecting Canada.”Ford also stressed the need for national unity. “We need to stick together. We need to take a Team Canada approach… We can’t have an outlier. We need the group of all premiers across the country to fight like they’ve never fought before.”.He was already signalling the same hard line on Saturday, saying “everything’s on the table” — including critical minerals, steel and nickel — and promising to meet steel CEOs on Monday to “tell them that we have their backs.”In the Monday AP interview, Ford invoked Ronald Reagan, noting that Trump keeps a portrait of the former president near his desk. “He’d be throwing up on him from the picture if he knew what was going on,” Ford said, adding that Reagan would be “disgusted with President Trump.” Last year Ford used Reagan’s anti-tariff words in a U.S. advertising campaign that angered Trump and temporarily halted trade talks.Ford accused Trump of trying to hollow out Canada’s economy. “He wants to bleed out every single sector and bring them down to the U.S.” He also called Trump “arrogant” and “cocky,” describing him as a bully who would keep coming back for more unless Canada stood firm..While acknowledging short-term pain for workers, Ford pointed to Ontario’s recent job gains — more than 50,000 new positions in the latest month — as evidence the province can withstand the pressure. He has asked Ottawa for regulatory relief, including changes to greenhouse-gas emissions standards for the auto sector.Ford is scheduled to provide further details at a press conference in Hamilton this afternoon.
