Doug Ford FUMBLES on threat to CANCEL Starlink contract

The Ontario government walked back their cancellation of the Starlink contract hours after Premier Ford made the threat.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced he would be "ripping up" a $100 million contract with Starlink, only to reverse course hours later. 

Ford made the initial announcement Monday morning, when he said all American companies would be barred until the tariffs are reversed, reported CTV News. He later reversed course on the procurement ban after U.S. President Donald Trump delayed tariffs on Canada by 30 days.

Ontario's premier rejected calls to axe the deal as recently as last week, though that changed following an executive order to tariff all Canadian exports, slated for Tuesday.

“I never believe in starting a fight, but I believe in winning the fight,” said Ford. The American tech company is owned by Elon Musk, a Trump supporter. 

Early Monday morning, PC Leader Ford said his government would pursue domestic options to provide rural communities with access to high-speed internet, following Trump’s executive order. Musk, who owns Starlink, did not appear bothered by the cancelled deal.

Ford lauded the internet deal last week as being both above reproach and transparent. At the time, Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie called on Ford to “cancel this deal” if he is serious about standing up for Canada.

The province chose Starlink to connect 15,000 “unserved and underserved” homes and businesses to the grid this year. Ontario has already invested more than $2.5 billion to provide internet access to 450,000 homes by the end of the year. 

A subsequent statement found Ford at odds with the eccentric billionaire, adding Ontario will not do business with “people hellbent on destroying” the provincial economy. “Oh well,” Musk wrote in a social media post.

However, productive talks between Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau temporarily paused the tariffs. The Government of Canada promised to stem illegal immigration and illicit fentanyl into the U.S. and avoid a costly trade war.

With the U.S. pausing tariffs, Ontario will also pause our retaliatory measures,” reads a statement from the Ontario government. "If President Trump proceeds with tariffs, we won’t hesitate to remove American products off LCBO shelves or ban American companies from provincial procurement." 

The premier anticipates inflation and interest rates would have risen had the tariffs not been reversed, and would have cost 500,000 Ontario jobs.

Trudeau would have imposed retaliatory tariffs on $155 billion worth of American-made goods if the trade war was not averted in the eleventh hour.

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COMMENTS

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  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2025-02-04 22:53:39 -0500
    What a horrible leader and a fake conservative. He should be called Peter (Wrong Way) Peachfuzz for the way he keeps changing course at exactly the wrong time. Fans of Rocky and Bullwinkle will get the cultural reference.
  • Bernhard Jatzeck
    commented 2025-02-04 00:28:34 -0500
    What does Ford think will be a suitable replacement for Starlink? There are reasons why people are moving over to that service.