Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to journalists at a provincial and territorial leaders meeting in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Jan. 15, 2025.
Blair Gable | Reuters
The Canadian province of Ontario on Monday said it was pausing a number of planned retaliatory measures against the United States, including the cancellation of a C$100 million ($68.12 million) contract with Elon Musk‘s Starlink.
Premier Doug Ford made the announcement after President Donald Trump said he was postponing by 30 days a series of tariffs against imports from Canada.
Earlier in the day, Ford had also said Ontario would ban U.S. companies from provincial contracts and order the province’s liquor board to remove all American products from its shelves starting on Tuesday.
“We have some good news today. We have temporarily averted tariffs that would have severely damaged our economy, giving time for more negotiation and time for cooler heads to prevail,” Ford said in a post on X.
“With the U.S. pausing tariffs, Ontario will also pause our retaliatory measures.”
Elon Musk attends the America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Nov. 14, 2024.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Ontario is the most populous of the 10 provinces and Canada’s industrial heartland.
Under the terms of the deal, which Ontario signed last November, Starlink was to provide high-speed internet access to 15,000 eligible homes and businesses in more remote communities. Musk, a close Trump ally, is heading the U.S. President’s drive to shrink the federal government.
Musk had shrugged off Ford’s threat, saying “Oh well” in a post on X.
Trump had said he would impose a 25% tariff on virtually all Canadian imports except for oil, which faces a 10% surcharge. If prolonged, such measures would trigger a recession.
The move generated widespread shock across Canada, which has traditionally prided itself on being a close U.S. ally and trading partner.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday announced Canada would impose 25% tariffs on C$155 billion of U.S. goods in response to the U.S. measures.
“Make no mistake, Canada and Ontario continue to stare down the threat of tariffs … 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,” said Ford.
