Ford threatened to ban American companies from provincial contracts
Monday was an interesting day in US and American politics.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Monday that he would be banning American companies from provincial contracts.
Premier Ford said that a deal he had previously signed with Elon Musk’s company Starlink in November 2024, worth $100-million Canadian ($68 million US), to deliver high-speed internet to 15,000 remote residents in rural and northern Ontario would be cancelled.
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” Ford said.
Ford said that U.S.-based businesses would lose out on “tens of billions of dollars” in new revenue as a result of Ontario’s response. “We just aren’t going to be using American companies."
“And no matter if we are building a hospital, if we’re building anything, if we’re building a doghouse I want to make sure we are using Ontario steel, Canadian products, Canadian wood, Ontario wood, anything,” Ford proclaimed.
Ford said Ontario had not “paid a penny” to Starlink and stated that if Musk takes the province to court over the cancellation of the deal, his government is prepared.
Musk’s response on his platform X was “Oh well”.