Featured Image Credit: Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images
Topics: Canada, Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, Michigan, Minnesota, Money, New York, Politics, US News
Liv Bridge
Topics: Canada, Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, Michigan, Minnesota, Money, New York, Politics, US News
Electricity bills could soon shoot up dramatically for more than a million Americans, as the Canadian Premier has slapped a major tax increase on electricity.
The trade war between the US and Canada is reaching boiling point now that 1.5 million US citizens face either a hefty hike to their electric bills or darkness if the country shuts the power off entirely.
President Donald Trump signed off on 'catastrophic' tariffs to the US' neighboring trading partners almost immediately after taking over the White House in January, with Canada, Mexico, and China accused of failing to stop illegal drugs and immigrants from crossing the US borders.
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Canada has not reacted well to Trump's threat of 25 percent tariffs, which came into effect on March 4 with further on the way on April 2.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed counter-tariffs would be applied to US goods, while Premier of Ontario Doug Ford said he has the finger on the switch to stop the flow of electricity to Americans in New York, Minnesota, and Michigan if Trump continues to 'escalate'.
Now pressing ahead with the plan for a 25 percent electric hike, Ford revealed just how devastating it will be to the hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses that rely on the Ontario-powered grids in the three states.
At a press conference on Monday, Ford said the surcharge will rake in $400,000 dollars every day, adding around $1,200 annually to the average electric bill of 'hardworking Americans.'
The premier explained: "We will apply maximum pressure to maximise our leverage.
"That's why today we're moving forward with a 25 percent surcharge on electricity exports.
"For the 1.5 million American homes and businesses that Ontario powers, homes and businesses in Minnesota, Michigan and New York, this surcharge will cost families and businesses in these states up to $400,000 dollars each and every single day.
"On an average, this will add around $100 dollars per month to the bills of hardworking Americans."
However, his warnings did not stop there, as he vowed he wouldn't think twice to pull the plug entirely.
Ford said: "If the United States escalates, I will not hesitate to shut the electricity off completely. Believe me when I say I do not want to do this, I feel terrible for the American people, because it's not the American people who started this trade war.
"It's one person who's responsible. That's President Trump."
The premier has also urged other Canadian provinces to follow suit by rolling out costly tariffs.
But Trump has since mocked the retaliation effort, writing on his platform Truth Social that the US will 'just get it all back on April 2'.
Canada's new prime minister, Mark Carney, also took the opportunity to address the trade war in his victory speech on Monday (March 10).
The former Bank of England governor said: "Donald Trump, as we know, has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell and how we make a living.
"He's attacking Canadian families, workers and businesses and we cannot let him succeed and we won't."
Carney vowed Canada would roll out more retaliatory tariffs until 'the Americans show us respect'.