Ontario scraps $100 mln Starlink deal as part of retaliation against Trump tariffs

Published 05/03/2025, 06:38
© Reuters.

Investing.com-- Ontario- Canada’s second-largest province- will cancel a $100 million Starlink deal and remove U.S.-made alcohol as part of sweeping retaliatory measures over U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs against Canada, Premier Doug Ford (NYSE:F) Ford said on Tuesday. 

“It’s done, it’s gone,” Ford said in a press conference, referring to the Starlink contract. “We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country.” 

Ontario had signed a $100 million deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in 2024 to provide Starlink-backed internet to northern Ontario and other rural areas. The contract cancellation came as part of sweeping retaliatory measures by Canada against 25% tariffs imposed by Trump, which became effective on Tuesday. 

Ford said that Ontario will ban all U.S. companies from procuring government contracts in the province, which will deny them tens of billions of dollars in revenue. 

Ford said The Liquor Control Board of Ontario- the biggest alcohol distributor- will no longer stock American liquor brands. The agency’s website was taken down to remove American listings, while several stores in Canada were also seen removing American liquor brands. 

Ford flagged the possibility of a 25% surcharge on all electricity exports to the U.S. if Trump followed through on any more tariffs, adding that he would not hesitate to shut off power supplies to the U.S., and would also limit critical mineral exports to the U.S.

Ford’s address comes after Canada struck back against Trump’s 25% tariffs with measures targeting about $20 billion of U.S. imports. Additional tariffs targeting about C$125 billion worth of U.S. imports will be enacted after a 21-day consultation period.

Trump’s latest round of tariffs were met with ire by Canada, Mexico, and China, who all outlined retaliatory measures against the U.S.

Trump claimed his tariffs were to pressure the countries into enacting stricter border controls and addressing the flow of illegal substances, particularly fentanyl, into the U.S.

Still, Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday that Trump will probably announce the scaling back of some tariffs against Mexico and Canada by as soon as Wednesday. 

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