Ontarians are yet again giving Doug Ford some bombastic side-eye after pausing plans to rip up the contract he signed with Elon Musk’s internet service provider, Starlink.
On Monday afternoon, Premier Ford announced he would be ending a contract with Starlink, the internet provider owned by Musk, as part of retaliation measures against tariffs that were set to come into effect this week. The $100-million CAD contract was signed by Ford back in November 2024 in an attempt to give 15,000 people in rural areas of Ontario high-speed internet.
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hell-bent on destroying our economy,” Ford said on X.
“Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
Musk’s response? A simple “Oh well.”
But Ford rolled that back on Monday evening after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced there was a 30-day suspension on the implementation of the impending tariffs.
Read More
- Big win for Canada: Trudeau secures 30-day tariff delay in last minute deal with Trump
- Ontario party leaders talk tariffs and protecting jobs on Day 6 of provincial election campaign
- ‘Why stop there?’ Ontario reacts as Doug Ford scraps Starlink contract with Elon Musk and U.S. booze from LCBO amid trade war
“With the U.S. pausing tariffs, Ontario will also pause our retaliatory measures. If President Trump proceeds with tariffs, we won’t hesitate to remove American products off LCBO shelves or ban American companies from provincial procurement,” Ford wrote on X.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
Following news earlier in the week that Ontario was pausing retaliatory measures against the U.S. in regards to the tariff threat, Ford told CNN that he is not worried about his threat to rip up the contract with Starlink backfiring.
“I can’t support someone hell-bent on destroying our province, taking food off people’s tables and destroying the economy,” Ford said to the news outlet.
We have some good news today. We have temporarily averted tariffs that would have severely damaged our economy, giving time for more negotiation and time for cooler heads to prevail. Thank you to the countless workers, union leaders, businesses and everyday proud Canadians who…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
“I don’t want to retaliate, Canada does not want to retaliate, that’s the last thing we want to do.”
SOME ONTARIANS SAY STARLINK CONTRACT SHOULD BE SCRAPPED
Following news that Ontario was putting a pin in its retaliatory measures, some people online are saying Ford should go ahead with the termination of the Starlink contract.
“We should still scrap the Starlink agreement!” London West MP Arielle Kayabaga responded on X.
“You need to still cancel the Starlink contract, it was a horrible deal. Their market is rural customers, you don’t need to hand them $100M for customers they want anyway,” Another person posted on X. “Give that money to the rural communities to decide how to use it.”
“You look like a fool. You acted like a bull in a china shop instead of thinking things through.
Now LCBO staff are in their stock rooms putting BACK the bottles. Now Musk is laughing & will likely tell you to stuff any future contracts. Now despite me being a party member you’ve lost my vote.”
While some people feel that this was the right move.
“Just put the wine bottles back where it should be, on the shelves, so we can buy them. And call starlink to sign a new contract,” wrote one person.
“Tariffs would have been a major hit to the economy, so delaying them makes sense. The big test now is whether security improvements will be enough to avoid another standoff,” another person commented.
