Ontario Premier Doug Ford is walking back his decision to axe a $100 million deal involving SpaceX’s Starlink after Canada and the United States agreed to temporarily halt proposed tariffs. The deal would have helped connect rural Ontario leveraging Starlink’s satellite internet, which is available worldwide.
On Monday afternoon, after a second call with President Donald Trump in a day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada is moving forward with a $1.3 billion border security plan, featuring new helicopters, technology, and personnel to combat fentanyl trafficking.
Also, nearly 10,000 frontline officers will be deployed to strengthen enforcement. Canada will also appoint a Fentanyl Czar to oversee drug enforcement, designate cartels as terrorist organizations, ensure 24/7 surveillance at the border and launch a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to fight organized crime and money laundering, while invest $200 million into intelligence operations.
Once this news came out, Ford reacted with his own statement on X.
“We have some good news today,” said Ford. “We have temporarily averted tariffs that would have severely damaged our economy, giving time for more negotiation and time for cooler heads to prevail.”
The move comes after pressure from business leaders, unions, and concerned Canadians, Ford noted, as both countries attempt to prevent a trade dispute from escalating.
With the U.S. shelving its planned tariffs, Ontario is following suit by pausing retaliatory measures. However, Ford made it clear that if President Donald Trump decides to proceed with tariffs in the future, Ontario will respond swiftly.
“If President Trump proceeds with tariffs, we won’t hesitate to remove American products off LCBO shelves or ban American companies from provincial procurement,” Ford warned.
Ford said the tariff battle is far from over, suggesting that trade tensions with the U.S. are likely to continue, particularly when renegotiations of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) arise.
“Make no mistake, Canada and Ontario continue to stare down the threat of tariffs,” he said. “So long as our trading relationship with our largest trading partner is up in the air, we will continue to see many potential projects frozen and projects that were already under way put at risk.”
Ford urged Canada and the U.S. to refocus their efforts on economic competition with China, rather than fighting among themselves.
“If we want to win, we need to fight together—not each other,” he said.
Earlier, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (who is now working for the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE), reacted to the Ontario cancellation of Starlink with a nonchalant,”oh well”.
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Ford should wait, or add conditions regarding tariff.
Again with the “oh well” from MElon? Of course that’s what the racist said now that he has access to the US Treasury.
Stop giving nazis and Americans taxpayer money.
rip that contract up,
We have an ultra-racist PM who has been looting our treasury with his friends and family for years.
You’re setting the bar kind of high for them.