This Canadian official warns Trump tariffs will ‘devastate’ US economy — threatens to hit back ‘twice as hard’

In response to President Donald Trump’s tariff plans targeting Canadian goods, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has a dire warning.

“If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything, including cut off their energy — with a smile on my face,” Ford declared during a mining conference in Toronto on Monday. “They rely on our energy, they need to feel the pain. They want to come at us hard? We’re going to come back twice as hard.”

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It’s not an empty threat. Ontario is a major electricity exporter to New York, Michigan and Minnesota, and the impact of a disruption could be significant. According to Statista, the U.S. imported approximately 33 terawatt-hours of electricity from Canada in 2023.

On Thursday, Trump announced a one-month delay on the 25% tariffs for imports from Mexico and Canada covered by the USMCA free trade agreement. But Ford isn’t backing down.

Later that day, he told CNN that Ontario will impose a 25% surcharge on power it sends to 1.5 million homes in Minnesota, Michigan and New York starting next week, in response to Trump’s tariff plan.

As of Friday, however, Trump announced he may impose new tariffs on lumber and dairy products coming from Canada sometime before Tuesday.

While Trump has called tariff “the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” Ford warns that the economic consequences will be severe.

“Donald Trump’s tariffs are going to devastate the U.S. economy, put Americans out of work and raise costs for hardworking American families,” Ford wrote in a post on X.

‘You punch someone in the nose and expect them not to punch you back’

Economists generally view tariffs as a double-edged sword. On one hand, they can protect domestic industries by making imported goods more expensive, giving local manufacturers a competitive edge. On the other hand, higher tariffs may result in increased costs for consumers, as companies pass on the extra expenses.

A 2019 study by economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Princeton University and Columbia University analyzed the effects of Trump’s earlier tariffs.

Their findings were clear: “Our results imply that the tariff revenue the U.S. is now collecting is insufficient to compensate the losses being borne by the consumers of imports.”

And as Ford’s threat makes clear, tariffs often lead to retaliation, escalating into trade wars that disrupt global supply chains and weigh on economic growth.

David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, put it bluntly in a CNN phone interview: “It’s a two-year-old’s mentality: You punch someone in the nose and expect them not to punch you back.”

“It’s one of those magical economic proposals that can actually cause inflation and put you into a recession — at the same time,” he added.

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Will the market plunge ‘faster than the American bobsled team’?

Stock markets have already taken a hit amid tariff concerns, and according to Ford, the worst may still be ahead.

“The market is speaking loud and clear, the market is going to go downhill faster than the American bobsled team,” he warned in a recent interview with CNN.

Even some of Trump’s own supporters are sounding the alarm about the economic fallout.

Economist Peter Schiff, who backed Trump during the election, has criticized the president’s stance on trade deficits, calling it “all wrong.” He argues that without Canadian imports, prices “would go way up” for U.S. consumers.

Schiff has gone as far as calling Trump’s tariffs a “$250 billion tax increase on Americans,” estimating that it could cost the average U.S. household about $2,000 per year.

Protect your purchasing power — and your portfolio

With markets reeling, inflation eroding purchasing power and trade war uncertainty looming, investors are searching for ways to safeguard their wealth.

Schiff suggests turning to a time-tested hedge — gold.

Gold is often considered the go-to safe haven asset. The precious metal can’t be printed out of thin air like fiat money, and because it’s not directly tied to any single currency or economy, investors often flock to it during periods of economic turmoil or geopolitical uncertainty, driving up its value.

Over the past year, gold has surged 34%, recently surpassing $2,900 per ounce. And according to Schiff, the rally is far from over.

“If gold can go from $20 an ounce to $2,600 an ounce, it can go from $2,600 to $26,000, or even to $100,000. There’s no limit because, again, gold isn’t changing — it’s the value of the dollar that’s decreasing,” he predicted last October.

These days, you don’t even have to go to a bullion shop to buy precious metals. There are plenty of online platforms that offer a wide selection of gold and silver bars and coins and fair pricing.

Additionally, you can combine the recession-resistant nature of gold with the tax benefits of an IRA by opening a gold IRA.

A tangible hedge with passive income

In addition to gold, real estate serves as another time-tested hedge against inflation — with the added benefit of generating income.

When inflation rises, property values often increase as well, reflecting the higher costs of materials, labor and land. This makes real estate a compelling store of value for investors looking to protect their wealth.

Moreover, real estate doesn’t just rely on appreciation for returns. Rental properties, for instance, can provide a stream of passive income. As inflation pushes up the cost of living, rental income typically rises alongside it, helping landlords offset the erosion of purchasing power.

Of course, purchasing a property requires significant capital — and finding the right tenant takes time and effort. But thanks to new investment options, you don’t need to own a property outright to invest in real estate.

Crowdfunding platforms, for example, allow everyday investors to own shares in rental properties without the large down payments or management headaches traditionally associated with real estate ownership.

Alternatively, real estate investment trusts (REITs) provide another avenue for those looking to gain exposure to this asset class.

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.