Signal Trump threatens 50% tariff on Canadian autos and steel; Ontario threatens to cut power, minerals

Summary

President Donald Trump said on Monday, August 24, 2026, that the United States will impose a 50% tariff on Canadian automobiles, auto parts and steel starting January 1, 2027, escalating a trade dispute after negotiations with Ottawa collapsed the previous week. This threatened tariff comes on top of an existing 50% tariff already in effect on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods. Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded that "everything is on the table" if the dispute worsens, including cutting off electricity and critical minerals exports to the U.S., saying of critical minerals, "I'll cut them off. You won't get a grain of sand out of Ontario." Ford said Ronald Reagan would be "throwing up" over Trump's trade policies and that Canadians are willing to endure economic pain rather than yield to U.S. pressure. Critical minerals are increasingly important to U.S. national security and manufacturing supply chains, raising the stakes of Ontario's threatened cutoff.