Three cities in New York will be hit hardest by the 25 percent surcharge Ontario, Canada, implemented on electricity on Monday in response to President Donald Trump‘s trade war.
Why It Matters
On Monday, the Ontario government enacted a 25 percent tariff on electricity flowing into parts of the U.S. The tariff comes after Trump announced last Thursday that he would allow Canada and Mexico a one-month reprieve from tariffs that went into effect earlier in the week.
Among Trump’s proposed tariffs include a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy, the major supplier to U.S. states hugging the northern border. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has also threatened to block energy exports to some U.S. states.
What to Know
The fourth-largest energy commodity traded between Canada and the U.S. is electricity, preceded by crude oil, natural gas and petroleum, respectively. Energy products from Canada now face a 10 percent tariff.
Ford’s tariffs are expected to raise power bills for 1.5 million U.S. homes and businesses. He previously threatened to “cut off their energy with a smile on my face” when discussing energy Canada exported to the U.S.
Ford threatened Minnesota, New York and Michigan. Two of the top U.S. cities importing Canadian electricity, according to U.S. Census data, are in New York: Buffalo and Ogdensburg. Rochester, New York, also will likely be affected.
Electricity imports from Canada, measured in megawatt-hours (MWh), peaked in 2020 and have declined since, but several U.S. cities still benefit from it. As of 2024, the imports brought 11.7 million MWh of electricity to Buffalo and 6.02 million MWh to Ogdensburg. Seattle, Washington; Portland, Maine; Pembina, North Dakota; and Great Falls, Montana, also received electricity from Canada but are unaffected by Ford’s tariffs.
Joseph Webster, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, told Newsweek that those cities, particularly upstate New York, would be significantly impacted if Canadian leaders block energy exports to the U.S.
Webster said he doubts Ford will block electricity to the U.S. completely, but the new Canadian tariffs that went into effect on Monday are bound to have a financial impact on Americans using Canadian electricity.
What People Are Saying
Webster told Newsweek: “Doug Ford’s threat to restrict electricity exports to the U.S. would fall especially hard on Buffalo and upstate New York, like Rochester.”
He added: “It’s a relatively cold time of the year and this is peak electricity season for upstate New York, so the price impact at the local level could potentially be substantial. If electricity is cut with little warning, there will be severe impacts on prices and electricity volume.”
Ford said in a Monday press release about the retaliatory tariffs: “President Trump’s tariffs are a disaster for the U.S. economy. They’re making life more expensive for American families and businesses. Until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, Ontario won’t back down. We’ll stand strong, use every tool in our toolkit and do whatever it takes to protect Ontario.”
What Happens Next
A press release from the Ontario government said the new tariffs on electricity exports to the U.S. will cost Americans up to $400,000 every day it remains in place.
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