Michigan politician says Ontario’s electricity surcharge didn’t hurt relationship

A senior Michigan politician says Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s short-lived electricity surcharge on exports to the state didn’t hurt relations between the two governments, accepting it was understandable during a trade war.

Almost a year ago, Ford held a news conference to announce he was placing a 25 per cent charge on electricity sent from Ontario to New York, Michigan and Minnesota.

The move was part of a suite of retaliatory measures after U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum were announced.

While the surcharge was part of the broader tariff battle between the Trump administration and the Canadian government, it directly targeted Ontario’s neighbours.

Asked about the effect of the short-lived surcharge on his state, Republican Matthew Bierlein said he didn’t think it had hurt relations with Ford or Ontario.

“I don’t believe so,” he said. “You’re doing what you have to do to protect, and we do what we need to do to protect ours.”

In the background, Ford echoed the cordial tone.

“I don’t (think so) either,” he said.

Back in March 2025, Ford’s surcharge sparked a furious news cycle as the premier, who had been lobbying the White House for months, finally caught U.S. President Donald Trump’s attention.

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Trump’s officials first called the move “egregious and insulting” and said 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum would be doubled to 50 per cent in response.

Ford then received a call from U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik, who invited him to a meeting in Washington, D.C. The premier said the offer was “an olive branch” and dropped the surcharge.

Trump stood down his plan to double tariffs on Canadian metals but kept the 25 per cent rate in place, swerving between calling the surcharge Ontario’s “little threat” and Ford a “strong man.”

The one-day surcharge raised roughly $260,000 on energy sold to New York, Michigan and Minnesota.

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