Doug Ford says the Ontario government is “ripping up” its $100-million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink to provide high-speed internet to northern and rural communities.
Ford, who plunged the province into an early election last week, said in a social media post Monday that effective immediately, the Progressive-Conservative government is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
The move follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to enact a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian and Mexican imports beginning Tuesday; Ottawa and the provinces are retaliating, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau imposing immediate tariffs on $30-billion worth of goods, followed by further tariffs on $125 billion worth of American products in 21 days.
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“Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will now lose out on tens of billions of dollars in new revenues. They only have President Trump to blame,” Ford said in his post.
“We’re going one step further. We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy.”
In November, Ford’s government signed the deal with Starlink so it could run a satellite-based internet program for roughly 15,000 households and businesses starting in June.
Musk took centre stage during the election campaign, advising Trump, promoting his content on his social media platform X and appearing with him.
Ford added that “Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
More to come.
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