Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeEnergyDoug Ford wants Canada to withhold oil exports to the U.S. Here's what that would meanOntario premier has threatened to cut off power to U.S., but for Alberta it's not that simpleLast updated 37 minutes ago Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford swapped belt buckles following a joint press conference at the McDougall Centre in Calgary on Monday, July 6, 2026. Photo by Brent Calver /PostmediaAlberta’s oil is nowhere to be found on Washington’s list of tariffed Canadian exports, but Ontario Premier Doug Ford wants Canada to tax the crude or hold it back from the United States.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorFord says Canada should hit back harder every time U.S. President Donald Trump escalates, and that oil and potash should be part of the retaliation.“We have to hit them hard. We have to make sure that they feel pain like we’re going to feel pain,” Ford said on the Bill Carroll Show on Newstalk 1010 in Toronto. “Nothing should be off the table.”The Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs on about $29-billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend. Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to retaliate with counter-measures against U.S. imports, which he said would be concentrated in steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againBut Ottawa hasn’t published a full list.“Canada fuels America’s growth … I don’t think they want us to stop sending any of that energy,” Carney said Saturday, when asked whether he would do it.Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Scotiabank, called that a veiled threat in a note to clients Sunday, then discounted it, putting the odds of Canada imposing export bans or quotas at negligible.Ford is not asking Alberta to do anything he has ruled out for his own province. He told The Associated Press he would consider cutting off the electricity and critical minerals that Ontario ships south, too.“You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario,” he said.For the oilpatch, it’s not that simple. Canada ships roughly four million barrels of oil per day to the United States. The country might quickly run out of storage space if it cut off those exports.“Even if the federal government buys the oil and puts it into reserves, that’s what we need to do until they feel the pain,” Ford said.But Heather Exner-Pirot, senior fellow and director of natural resources, energy and environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said the crude would have to stay in the ground. The Trans Mountain pipeline to the West Coast, she noted, is full.“We’d have to shut in production, and that is extremely damaging for wells,” Exner-Pirot said.An export tax would not spare Alberta producers, Exner-Pirot said. It would land on Canadian companies, not American buyers.“Just like Americans pay the tariffs, if we impose an export tax, it’s our companies that are responsible for paying the export tax.”“For all those reasons, it’s been a non-starter for Alberta.”Alberta Premier Danielle Smith held her position through Saturday’s escalation, telling listeners on her radio show that retaliation carries its own cost.“I know, emotionally, it feels good to retaliate. I get that. But let’s remember what happens when we retaliate,” she said.She addressed the question again Monday in a statement, saying cutting off Alberta energy exports to the U.S. “would be extremely harmful to Canadians and is not a viable option.”Smith said she had spoken with Ford earlier that day and offered to work with him on strengthening the Canadian economy, pointing instead to pipelines already under construction.“A strong energy sector creates a strong Canada,” she said. “It can provide the revenue all levels of government will need to support other impacted sectors.”Asked how he would bring Alberta around, Ford turned the question back on her.“The premier, with all due respect, has to start focusing on being part of Team Canada and not be focusing on having referendums to split up from Canada,” he said. “It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”It works the other way, too, Exner-Pirot said. Tax Canadian oil, and Americans pay for it. Gulf Coast refiners would look for other heavy crude instead.But it might be more expensive. The United States relies heavily on relatively cheap Canadian oil, which may help explain why Washington left oil out of Saturday’s tariffs.The three proclamations Trump signed July 20 under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 exclude energy, potash, fish and critical minerals, while the 50 per cent duties cover about US$20 billion of Canadian goods, including dairy, alcohol, vehicles, cement and hockey sticks.Ontario has a move available before it asks anything of Alberta, Exner-Pirot said. TC Energy Corp.’s Mainline pipeline already carries Western Canadian natural gas east. Ontario stopped relying on it after 2008, when gas got cheaper to buy out of Pennsylvania, and has doubled its American gas purchases since, at the expense of Canadian supply, Exner-Pirot said.“Ford has been very willing to talk about leveraging Alberta oil and Saskatchewan potash,” she said. “But Ontario is still buying American natural gas, and it could be buying Canadian natural gas.”“Before you start cutting off Alberta oil, how about buying Alberta natural gas,” she said. “Let’s start with that one.” Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.