The U.S. president plans to double the planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports.

Donald Trump said a 25 per cent tariff due to take effect on Wednesday will now be 50 per cent.

It comes after the province of Ontario placed a 25 per cent tariff on all electricity heading to the United States.

“I will shortly be declaring a National Emergency on Electricity within the threatened area,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“This will allow the U.S to quickly do what has to be done to alleviate this abusive threat from Canada.

“They will pay a financial price for this so big that it will be read about in History Books for many years to come!”

Trump is also threatening to increase tariffs on cars coming into the U.S. on April 2 if Canada does not drop its retaliatory tariffs which, he said, “will essentially, permanently, shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada.”

On Monday night, Trump called Canada a “tariff abuser” in response to Ontario’s electricity tariffs.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the move was in retaliation to Trump’s own tariff threats, which he initially said would happen at the start of February before pausing them for a month.

He threatened them again at the start of March, only to pause some of them for a second time. However, many Canadian provinces are still retaliating until the tariffs are totally dropped.

Ford said the power levy would affect about 1.5 million customers in Minnesota, Michigan and New York, increasing monthly bills by about $100 for the average household or business.

In a statement, Minnesota Power said they have used a small amount of power from Ontario “on occasion,” but that totaled to about $300,000 for all of 2024.

They said they expect the impact of the Ontario power tariffs to have a “negligible” impact.

Trump claims Ford is not allowed to tariff electricity exports, according to a social media post.

He said they will get back any money they lose to the electricity surcharge when reciprocal tariffs kick in on April 2.

Ford said Tuesday that he will not back down on the electricity surcharge, despite the new steel and aluminum tariffs.

He is calling on the U.S. president to drop his tariffs on Canada and to come to the table to negotiate a fair trade deal with our country.

“President Trump launched an unprovoked trade and tariff war with America’s closest friend and ally,” Ford said in a social media post.

He added that until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, he will not back down.

Ford appeared on several U.S. news channels to make the case for electricity surcharges.