Ontario ditches multimillion-dollar Starlink contract in latest tariffs protest

Ottawa — The Canadian province of Ontario on Monday announced it was cancelling a C$100-million ($68.12m) contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink, the latest retaliatory move against tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump.

Ontario, the most populous of the 10 provinces and Canada’s industrial heartland, also said it was banning US companies from provincial contracts.

Starting on Tuesday, Trump says he will impose a 25% tariff on virtually all Canadian imports except for oil, which faces a 10% surcharge. If prolonged, the measures would send the Canadian economy into a recession.

The move generated widespread shock across Canada, which has traditionally prided itself on being a close US ally and trading partner.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, one of the more hard-line premiers on the question of retaliation, said US-based businesses would lose out on tens of billions of dollars in new revenues and only had Trump to blame.

“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hell bent on destroying our economy,” he said in a post on the X social media network.

Under the terms of the deal, which Ontario signed last November, Starlink was to provide high-speed internet access to 15,000 eligible homes and businesses in more remote communities.

Starlink was not immediately available for comment.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday announced Canada would impose 25% tariffs on C$155-billion of US goods in response to the US measures.

Trump says the tariffs — which he also imposed on Mexico — will stay in place until Canada does more to fight illegal migrants and fentanyl smuggling.

Trump said he had spoken to Trudeau on Monday and would be speaking to him again at 3pm Eastern Time (8pm GMT). Trudeau’s office did not respond to a query as to how the call had gone.

Trudeau is due to speak to a special advisory council on US-Canada relations later on Monday.

The tariffs are unprecedented, especially since the US, Canada and Mexico are part of a continental free trade pact.

In protest, Canadians cancelled trips south of the border, boycotted US alcohol and other products and even booed at sporting events.

Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House’s national economic council, told CNBC that Canada had “misunderstood” the tariffs and were interpreting them as a trade war.

Reuters