‘Reagan would be throwing up:’ Ontario premier unloads on Trump and threatens to cut electricity to US as trade dispute escalates

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that Ronald Reagan would be "throwing up" over President Donald Trump’s trade policy as the expanding Canada-U.S. trade confrontation deepens.

Ford said Monday that Trump has miscalculated the determination of the Canadian public to sustain financial hardship rather than submit to American pressure.

"He underestimates Canada. We’re all in," Ford said. "Up here, we’re at a fever pitch, everyone’s in for an economic war. They know they’re going to have to sacrifice."

Ford said that Trump had "declared war, economic war against his closest friend and ally" before turning his attention to Reagan, whose classic opposition to tariffs Ford previously highlighted in an American television ad campaign.

Ford highlighted that Trump keeps a portrait of Reagan near his desk. Reagan consistently advocated for open trade and repeatedly cautioned that protective duties could provoke counter-measures and harm American consumers and workers.

"He’d be throwing up on him from the picture if he knew what was going on, spinning around in his grave right now," Ford said. "He should maybe take that picture off the wall and move it somewhere else. Because right now, Ronald Reagan would be disgusted with President Trump."

The Premier’s remarks followed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to exit trade talks with the Trump administration late Friday , citing excessive demands from Washington in exchange for duty relief. The United States enacted 50% tariffs Saturday on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, prompting Carney to announce matching dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs starting Sept. 8.

Trump intensified the conflict further on Monday, threatening a 50% tariff on Canadian automobiles, car parts, and steel starting next year.

"Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years," Trump wrote on social media Monday morning. Criticizing what he called Canada’s "ridiculously high tariffs" on American farmers, Trump added: "Not sustainable, and NOT ANYMORE!"

Ford warned that "everything is on the table" should the dispute deteriorate, including shutting off electricity exports and critical mineral shipments from Ontario. He also urged Canada to consider using oil and potash as leverage.

"I’ll cut them off," Ford said of critical minerals. "You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario."

Critical minerals carry increasing weight for U.S. national defense and industrial manufacturing. The Pentagon has worked to secure reliable supplies of raw materials utilized in military aircraft, missiles, munitions, and advanced electronics as Washington aims to diminish its reliance on China, which controls the mining and refining of several key strategic minerals.

Ford explicitly highlighted high-grade nickel exported to the United States and uranium processed in Ontario.

"What would they do without the high-grade nickel that we ship down to the U.S.?" Ford said.