The Canada-US trade war looks to have further intensified, especially in Ontario.
On Monday morning, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that the province is banning American companies from bidding on provincial contracts in response to U.S. tariffs. The move takes effect immediately and will remain in place until the tariffs are lifted.
Ford said the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion annually on procurement, with an additional $200 billion dedicated to infrastructure projects. As a result, U.S.-based businesses will lose access to tens of billions of dollars in potential revenue.
The province is also canceling its contract with Starlink, the satellite internet service from SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk. “Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” implying Musk’s ties with President Donald Trump.
“Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S.,” Ford said. “But you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
What are the alternatives to Starlink? It would have to be traditional fibre or 5G internet for rural areas. Or, Ottawa-backed Telesat’s Lightspeed and its satellite internet solution (which will be sold to resellers, then to consumers), which isn’t even close to be going online. Ironically, Lightspeed will be relying on SpaceX to launch its satellites to space.
On the weekend, after the U.S. said it would slap 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the federal government responded with its own selected tariffs, such as on electric cars and video game consoles.
The U.S. tariffs on Canada are because Trump alleges Ottawa is not doing enough on border security and fighting the war on fentanyl.
Earlier today, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke with Trump, and both sides agreed to pause anticipated tariffs for one month as negotiations take place. Mexico will also further secure the border with 10,000 members of its national guard.
It will be interesting if Prime Minister Trudeau decides to follow suit, with his talks later today with President Trump. The Canada-US border has long been seen as a weak point, where anyone can walk across the world’s longest undefended border and claim asylum.
The U.S. economy is about ten times that of Canada and we won’t win in a trade war. Nobody will win, as consumers will be the biggest losers. In the meantime, let’s bring back BlackBerry and smash our iPhones, right?
Update February 3, 2025: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded to the news by saying, “oh well.”
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Good for Ontario, put the money into the Canadian satellite system instead.
I'm all for supporting Canada and its businesses, but this knee jerk reaction will only hurt the people in the remote areas who have been waiting to be connected.
Most will say they can get it for themselves but under the Fed/Prov initiatives, it has been outlined to offer internet/connected services for the people and businesses in these remote areas.
To wait on an alternative could takes years as Telesat isn't scheduled to deploy its first LEO satellites until mid 2026, and at a cost of over an estimated $3.5B. This doesn't include for any consumer hardware and still relies on Space X to deploy them for Telesat.
I do feel sorry for those who thought they were going to be included in the growth of Canada…
Guys, this is the second article with "In the meantime, let’s bring back BlackBerry and smash our iPhones, right?". First of all iPhone is just a part of the market. We have Samsung, LG etc. Next, most of the Apple products are build in China so no issues here. The real problem is that we need to stand up to the bully, and to understand that a bully does not know friendship only brute force. So, please: Stand Up for Canada, eh!
Oh well?!? lol 🙄🙄🙄
Look like Trump and Trudeau came to a deal, Ford spoke too soon, ouch
The "deal" is exactly what Public Safety Canada announced on December 17. This is all political theatre so Trump could save face to make it seem like he got a win.
Just to be fair, after re-reading the December 17 announcement, it looks like some negotiation was done. I think both sides went a bit too dramatic.
Yep. All the tariff hot air from Humpty Drumpfy was about claiming a win over an imaginary issue. Tack on the 51st state BS, and the Wall Street Journal was 100% correct that Humpty created “The Dumbest Trade War in History”.
Look like Trump and Trudeau came to a deal, Ford spoke too soon, ouch
I wonder how this will affect Dougie in his made up election??? lol. Knee jerk decision on his part.
I wonder how this will affect Dougie in his made up election??? lol. Knee jerk decision on his part.