Premier Doug Ford announces new retaliatory U.S. electricity tax plan

Ontario Premier Doug Ford made an announcement from Toronto at 11 a.m. Monday, detailing a new U.S. electricity tax plan.

He was joined by Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Electrification.

Ford announced that the Ontario government has applied a 25 per cent surcharge on all electricity exports to the U.S. as part of the province’s initial suite of retaliatory measures to the U.S. tariffs on Canada.

He said the surcharge will affect 1.5 million homes and business in Michigan, Minnesota and New York, costing up to $400,000 every day that the surcharge remains in place.

In a release from the Premier’s Office, new market rules are in effect that require any generator selling electricity to the U.S. will add a 25 per cent surcharge, valued at $10 per megawatt-hour (Mwh) to the cost of power.

The release further reads that the surcharge is expected to generate revenue between $300,000 to $400,000 per day, which “will be used to support Ontario workers, families and businesses.”

The new surcharge is in addition to the Canadian government imposing an initial round of $30 billion in retaliatory tariffs.

In Ontario, the LCBO had removed all United States products from its shelves, and the province has also banned U.S. companies from participating in an estimated $30 billion worth of annual government procurement.

WATCH MORE: Stelco’s new owners express support for Trump’s tariff