Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Canada to cut off energy exports to the United States. He says it’s about standing up to Trump’s tariffs.

Don’t be fooled.

This isn’t even the first time Ford has played this card. When Trump’s tariffs first hit in early 2025, Ford threatened to shut off electricity exports to the U.S. completely — saying he’d do it “with a smile on his face.” It was bluster then. It’s bluster now.

Ford’s approval rating has collapsed to 24% after it emerged that PC MPPs were billing Ontario taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars for hotel stays in Toronto, a city where many of them live. A minister has resigned. Ontario voters are furious.

Now, instead of answering for the scandal, Ford is throwing a cross-border tantrum.

This is the oldest trick in the book. When a politician is drowning in scandal at home, find an enemy abroad. Ford doesn’t want Ontarians talking about hotel bills. He wants them talking about Donald Trump.

But here’s the problem: threatening to cut off energy exports doesn’t hurt Trump. It hurts Canadian families and workers. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called the idea a non-starter, warning that “wars have been started over that kind of conversation.” She’s right.

Canada’s energy sector exists to produce and export — not to be used as a political weapon by a premier trying to save his own job.

A real trade strategy means negotiating hard, diversifying our markets, and getting more Canadian energy to more customers.

Sign our petition and tell Premier Ford: No trade war with the United States.