TORONTO — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday that U.S. trade demands confirmed Canada's fears that U.S. President Donald Trump was seeking to dismantle its auto industry, as Trump threatened new 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel, and as Ontario Premier Doug Ford warned Canada could cut off electricity and critical minerals to the United States.
Carney said Canada remained willing to negotiate, but only if Washington approached the talks as a partnership between sovereign countries. He said "an attitude at the negotiation table that Canada is a subsidiary of the United States" is "not something we're going to accept."
Ford, speaking in an interview with The Associated Press, said Trump has underestimated Canadians' willingness to endure economic pain rather than give in to U.S. pressure.
"He underestimates Canada. We're all in," Ford said. "Up here, we're at a fever pitch, everyone's in for an economic war. They know they're going to have to sacrifice."
Trump said Monday that the new 50% tariffs on Canadian automobiles, auto parts and steel would begin next year.
"Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years," Trump wrote on social media, criticizing what he called Canada's "ridiculously high tariffs" on American farmers.
Carney said Washington's auto-sector proposals would "gradually dismantle" Canadian production.
Carney noted Canada is the largest customer for U.S. automobiles and questioned what Trump's latest move would mean for workers in states such as Ohio, Kentucky and Alabama who depend on Canadian demand.
"This is the most successful automotive partnership in history," Carney said, referring to the deeply integrated Canada-U.S. industry.
Carney walked away from trade negotiations with the Trump administration late Friday, saying Washington demanded too much in exchange for tariff relief. The United States imposed 50% tariffs Saturday on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, while Carney announced dollar-for-dollar retaliation beginning Sept. 8.
In the AP interview, Ford said Trump had "declared war, economic war against his closest friend and ally" before invoking Ronald Reagan, whose opposition to tariffs Ford previously featured in a television advertising campaign aimed at Americans.
Ford noted that Trump keeps a portrait of the late president near his desk.
"He'd be throwing up on him from the picture if he knew what was going on, spinning around in his grave right now," Ford said. "He should maybe take that picture off the wall and move it somewhere else. Because right now, Ronald Reagan would be disgusted with President Trump."
Ford said "everything is on the table" if the dispute worsens, including cutting off electricity and critical minerals from Ontario. He also called for Canada to consider using oil and potash as leverage.
"I'll cut them off," Ford said of critical minerals. "You won't get a grain of sand out of Ontario."
Critical minerals are increasingly important to U.S. national security and manufacturing. The Pentagon has sought more secure supplies of minerals used in military aircraft, missiles, munitions and electronics as Washington tries to reduce reliance on China, which dominates the mining or processing of several strategically important minerals.
Ford specifically cited high-grade nickel shipped to the United States and uranium refined in Ontario.
"What would they do without the high-grade nickel that we ship down to the U.S.?" Ford said.
Ford said Canada should consider increasingly severe retaliation if Trump continues targeting Canadian industries, including oil and potash, while Ontario could raise electricity prices or stop sending power south.
"We power 1.5 million homes and businesses," Ford said. "Everything's on the table. I'll do whatever it takes."
If Trump continues trying to dismantle Canadian manufacturing, Ford said, "he better have a pack of batteries."
