Ontario Premier Doug Ford is announcing that the province will rip up its $100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s incoming 25 per cent tariffs.
Ford’s office made the announcement Monday and said the government is also banning other American companies from provincial contracts until the tariffs are reversed.
“Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” Ford said in a statement, referring to the Starlink deal which was inked in November and was set to bring internet access to thousands of homes in remote and rural communities across the province.
Musk owns Starlink through his tech company, SpaceX, and heads Trump’s newly-minted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The action comes after Trump signed an executive order Saturday to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods and a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian oil, natural gas and electricity starting Tuesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada will impose its own tariffs in retaliation, including a 25 per cent levy on American-made goods, like alcohol and fruit.
“We just do not understand him [Trump] spending time and energy on his closest friend, his treasured ally, since 1867. There’s more problems in the world than attacking your closest friend,” Ford said in an interview on Fox News Monday morning.
According to the province, Ontario and its agencies spend $20 billion every year on government procurement, which is money Ford said U.S.-based businesses will lose out on amid the trade war.
Ford said he anticipates inflation and interest rates to rise on both sides of the border until an agreement is reached to end the tariffs and has previously the move could cost 500,000 Ontario jobs.
“We’re your allies. We’re your friends. We need to build a strong two nations, not fight each other,” he said.
Trump and Trudeau are expected to discuss the tariffs later today.