Evidence of the legacy media’s ongoing death wish is routinely reinforced by editorials written by people who have no understanding of basic economics and who believe that actions can only have the consequences they imagine them to have. The Winnipeg Free Press has now gone so far as to endorse Doug Ford’s bizarre threat to turn off power to American customers. They don’t seem to realize or care that this will be the end of Canada’s reputation as a reliable electricity supplier, with bankruptcy of the utilities following shortly thereafter.
A power outage for millions on Jan. 21 would send the message loud and clear.
If Ottawa and the premiers do that, up to and including being prepared to hit the “off” switch on wide swaths of the continental U.S., Trump’s inner circle will likely have him standing down before it ever comes to that.
Seems to me that Alberta, at least, and sometimes Saskatchewan, have to import power from neighboring US states when our wonderful wind turbines are dead in the water, which is often, and often in the coldest weather, too.
So if we cut off electricity to them from ON or QC, what’s to stop Trump from forbidding exports to Canada in emergency conditions?
They could also shut down Line 5 in Michigan to starve the refineries in SW Ontario, where most of southern Ontario’s gasoline and diesel are refined.
Poking the bear is never smart.
Grid interconnections are essential to ensure reliability across all connected jurisdictions. The August 10, 2003 blackout terminated all power within Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, New York. Only by drawing on power from neighbors could the system be restarted, particularly the nuclear plants. (No nuclear plant can perform a ‘black start’.) Terminating power exports to the United States would terminate any and all grid interconnections.
This is extremely unwise. With its huge loss from coal-plant closures, Ontario can no longer easily black-start its power system. It must rely on connections with the US.
Yeah Ford is insane or stupid.
“Fat, stupid and insane is no way to go through life, son.”
Dean Trump
We as a friend to USA should never talk about shutting power off !
CGH nails it closing plants that use coal is beyond foolish! Maintaining ( and increasing) coal -fired power stations will be crucial for our grid!!!! Germany found this out 15 years ago! History should be a teacher to the foolish!!!!
And Trump in my opinion is just having fun with Trudeau and his Liberals—-Tariffs will never show up!
Strictly a negotiating tactic. Only a fool or a Librano would get taken in by this. We do not want an enemy to the North. The Canadian Forces would defeat us in hours.
Line 5 is a good example, but only one of many, as the integration of trans-shiping of crude and refined products extends all the way to New Brunswick. Upseting any of it would be self-destructive to all concerned; except maybe the bright lights in Washington and Ottawa who come up with such simplistic brain farts.
Might also be worth contemplating that, although they ship millions of tons of coal to China every year, the lower BC mainland gets the vast majority of its refined products via the USA. What happens if that were to be embargoed in a tit-for-tat response?
Bottom line is, in my view, that the Trump threat was theatrics (where it had its effect), but the fallout may well be a series of own goals driven more by the Ottawa gangsters wanting to use the invented crisis to advance their destruction on the (Western Canadian) resourse industries and punish the ungrateful peons who don’t vote for The Tyrant.
He has always been a vendictive, childish, self-centered narcissist.
Ontario will be turned into an economic smoking hole in the ground if they play games. Unbelievable stupidity….but that’s Ontario for you.
The only thing good that comes out of Ontariostan, is AN EMPTY BUS.
I hate this Province and the FILTHY LIBERALS inhabiting it.
I’m sure Manitoba Hydro will do fine if the US doesn’t buy power anymore……
Um….no.
Trump would be more than happy to remove regulations and delays to have the US restart / rebuild power plants (including nuclear) and eliminate the need to import power. Supercharge the US economy as well.
But sure, listen to the geniuses at the Winnipeg Free Press.
“Um….no.”
Quite right. Manitoba can only export its electricity to Ontario. There’s no demand for imported electricity in North Dakota. So if Ontario terminates grid supply to the United States, Manitoba would be automatically cut off as well.
What this shows is that the Free Press is incapable of rational thought and anything resembling foresight.
So it’s about the media, eh?
And here I was, thinking the story told us something about Blubber Douggie.
You’ve been reading the legacy media too much.
SDA is hardly legacy media.
Just by threatening to cut off power the damage has already been done . President Trump will start building nuclear reactors so the USA isn’t dependent on Canada for electricity. There is no way he will tolerate a foreign country having that kind of leverage over the US when it’s such an easy fix. There goes another Canadian export.
Manitoba is a province which is supremely blessed with excellent agriculture, mining and lots of other natural resources. It should be as rich as Midas. But because it has had a series of “less than special” governments, it is a have-not province. This editorial is a continuation of the mind-set which has caused their collapse.
Nailed it. Communist ideology is very firmly rooted in Manitoba, Winnipeg and the North specifically.
Correct. If they had a government with brains they’d partner with both Saskatchewan and North Dakota and let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark.
Aren’t most of the states Canada exports power to blue states?
Not by County. With the exception of Muslim-Minnesota and Bernie Sanders Vermont.
https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/241ef0a0df02ef51651b703542a0f972
The US simply needs to close the Canadian border, then come back in a year or so with a small force and clean up the pieces like Syria or Gaza.
Just like any communist backwater in the world, end of problems, plenty of resources, end of story.
The Canadian media is trying to gin up some nice convenient America Hatred (TM) among the gullible, envious Sheeple of Canada, the better to revive some hope for the #ShinyPony regime surviving the next election. Because they all know they are TOAST if #PP gains the helm of the great ship of state. Done, like dinner.
Will #BlubberDougie and #ShinyPony -really- shut off the juice to the USA? Prior to Covid I would have laughed and said no freakin’ way. But now, having seen #Lockdowns, #MartialLaw, and #FrozenBankAccounts, I am going to put on my Concerned Face and say “Maybe.”
Because would #Douggie and #Pony utterly ruin Canada to win an election? Absolutely yes. We already saw them do it. But will the banksters and the #W3ston$ and #TheUsualBillionairs -let- them do it? Maybe yes, maybe no. It depends on things the rest of us don’t know.
But whatever the case may be, just remember: no matter how much you h@te the Canuckistanian media, it isn’t enough.
Try not to get paranoid. The adverse consequences on Canadian electric utilities for grid reliability would be enormous. Should it be ordered, the immediate response of IESO and Ontario Power Generation to the Minister of Energy’s office would be “FOAD”. This terminating of electrical interconnections would be so severe and so stupid that this will never happen. Trudeau and Ford are bluffing.
But, yes, the Canadian legacy media are scum.
You never know with Fordeau, remember, “I stood shoulder to shoulder with the Prime Minister” and “I can assure you all the premiers love Chrystia Freeland. I just love her a little more than the rest of the premiers”
Not really “shoulder to shoulder…..more like lips to ass.
What’s making me paranoid is their reaction to Trump is insane. As ‘First Timer” says below, the tariff threat is because of illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Their reaction to the USA calling them on their -ridiculous- lack of border security is unhinged.
They want to cut electricity cooperation to the Americans? IN THE WINTER? And the real, unstated reason is because they don’t want to arrest a bunch of criminals.
What’s the true purpose of catch-and-release? Who loses money and what plan comes apart if the drug smuggling gets disrupted?
And the media is enthusiastically going along for the ride, of course, because the government owns them outright.
“the tariff threat is because of illegal immigration and drug smuggling. ”
No it isn’t, Trump literally thinks trade ‘deficits’ are a subsidy. He doesn’t understand anything.
In any event, it’s not our responsibility to enforce US customs.
Never in a million years would it occur to Trudeau to comply with Trump’s actual request that Canada increase border security in order to stop the flow of fentanyl.
Does Ontario still have an automotive industry? Perhaps not for long.
“Does Ontario still have an automotive industry? Perhaps not for long.”
Yeah. How many F-250s is Ford going to build in Oakville with a 25% US tariff on them? That’s going to hurt.
How many F-250s are they going to sell in Canaduh when nobody’s got a job because 25% tariffs? It’ll be like Cuba.
To me, there’s got to be a reason for #Pony to be acting this way. Is he going to get re-elected if nobody has a job? Nope. But there he is, doing it.
I remember when Soviet union broke up. There was a military base with nuclear misses. The electric bill was in arrears so the electric company cut their power. The base commander had a tank drive to the company gates pointing the barrel towards the building. And just like that the power was restored. Ford will get the same treatment if he tries this.
If you have a nuclear misses, I’d suggest divorce.
Somtimes pronounced missus, or missis.
A very exotic STD, that one.
Except in our case it will be a only imagined E volkswagon with a seized airsoft assault style rifle as a threat.
Do keep in mind what this tariff threat is all about…
JT and Dougie could forestall the tariffs in a heartbeat.
Just do something about our illegal immigration and drug networks.
Which would be good for Canada as well.
But no….
And the media seems to never mention what the root of the tariff threat is, either.
This could be so easy, and so good for Canada.
But now that the old myth of “Health Care” defining what Canada is all about is defunct, I guess now it is illegal immigrants and drug trafficking that define us as a country, and are not to be tampered with.
Trump is such a meanie! We are so much nicer!
Neither Canada or the USA are dealing with the drug problem very honestly. The supply issue is only half of the problem. The other half is the demand for the drugs. It looks like only Alberta is starting to deal with this side of the problem and many people are railing against that.
Somehow, it’s always somebody elses responsibility for my drug problem..
Well the government is supplying the drugs, paraphernalia and the locations to shoot up … so there is that
Reducing demand side also reduces many of the destructive effects of gang warfare. Hence, Nancy Reagan’s “Just say No” campaign which produced enormous ridicule from people who do not understand economics.
“Just do something about our illegal immigration and drug networks.”
Not our job, not our obligation. The US has its own customs and they can ruin their own country with them.
“The other half is the demand for the drugs.”
No, the only problem is drug prohibition and limits on immigration.
We are responsible for keeping “them” out of canada, not the U S .
China owns 22 million Hectares of Canada. Khalistani’s have a large influence in all levels of Government.Who runs Khanaduh?You could say WEF, but I think China owns them too,and of course the UN.
The various governments in Canada have routinely run campaigns against the USA for more than a century, the insistence on “bison vs buffalo” the misspelling of “color” and always making a case that “at least we’re not Americans” has brought us here…. I haven’t seen any argument for keeping the border between Canada and the USA as it is. The USA has a problem with border security here and with Mexico, and while they’re well on their way to repairing the leaky southern border, when the USA mentions the status of their northern border they get idiocy from all varieties of gov’t here, with the possible exception of AB/Sask.
Why does the Canadian Gov’t feel it’s better to counter the US stance on having a closed border with tit for tat tariffs instead of just addressing the border situation? Is the Gov’t of Canada not aware of why the US Gov’t is threatening these tariffs? It’s been in all the blogs, you’d think someone would tell the #Libranos about this.
I haven’t seen a cogent argument for keeping the border as it is, or as the US wants it to be, I’m only seeing the economic fallout from not being able to address the problem of a leaky border at hand.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a gov’t program completed on time, on budget, and without unexpected consequences, every aspect of Canadian governance is in a shambles and underperforms at great expense, yet every problem in Canada leads directly back to governance here… poor choices by which the governing overlords have taken. Is there someone else to blame?
When is the AB/Sask. separation referendum? I have NO faith that Canadians can undo the damage they’ve self inflicted by electing #Libranos.
And… why exactly if I could save Canada from itself, why would I want to save Canada?
Sorry, color to me is not pronounced colour, but color.
I never misspell or mispronounce color, I don’t care what people call the millions of assault cows which roamed North America prior to it being resettled by northern europeans, they all taste the same.
If the USA insisted that Canada actually do something about the leaky refugee border, and the importation of drugs as well, and Canada refused to take concrete steps to take care of that problem, what would Canada’s response be when the USA Gov’t started exporting gov’t issue guns and ammunition into Canada for anyone who wanted them? Sending guns north through the Indian Reserves dotting the St. Lawrence? From the Washington coast up to BC? across the mostly unguarded prairies?
The US is exporting guns to Canada.
No no…. I mean like other countries have lax checks on containers of drugs being imported into the USA.
After all, there is a market for such items.
Those who have used the Kings English prior to the computer found favour, and colour throughout the land. They even had humour. Amazing how something as simple as spell check can alter people’s language.
Go to YouTube and watch Shawn Ryans 149 podcast with Sarah Adams.. it’s long and lots of Islamic names, but the last 45 minutes will leave you wanting a hemp rope to show up close and personal to the present US government.
I take it we are assuming that Trudeau can read.
The stupid is strong out there marc.
PeeAirhead was also a we’re not Americans, so Peehair is copying his foster father.
Ontario can do whatever it wants to do but leave the other provinces out of this silly game. Maybe the prairies should cut off oil and gas to central Canada instead of allowing Trudeau to harm our trade with the US. Perhaps that would put pressure on Trudeau Liberals to do the right thing – fix the border and stop the drug trade.
Yup…..and the U.S. will shut off refined products to Ontario. The place would collapse.
It’s a dumb thing to say. It’s a dumb thing to imply. It would be an even dumber thing to do.
I’m not sure those outside the borders of the US are understanding what Trump’s primary motivation is for his second term. Quite a few inside the US borders don’t get it yet either. It is, almost, an isolationist philosophy. The incoming administration is laser focused on establishing domestic self sufficiency. Energy and electricity is just a small slice of the incoming administration’s ambition. But, with the comments from Ford (which Trump responded to personally, I might add) you can bet he brought this issue right front and center. And, you can bet rather safely that someone was pulled into Mara-lago to offer advice as to how to ween the US off of any reliance on Canadian electricity.
Instead of keeping a low profile, your Premier of Ontario decided to draw attention to something that Trump might or might not have gotten to in the next four years. All in the name of bluster. But, you can bet it is fast tracked now.
” The incoming administration is laser focused on establishing domestic self sufficiency. ”
Which is going to make America vastly poorer. Time to leave them behind.
Do you have any rational thoughts. How the hell would self sufficiency make anyone poorer?
Trump.
Open negotiations with Alberta and Saskatchewan to become 51st and 52nd states of the US. It would have a wrecking ball to this failed project that is Canada faster than a Trudeau ever could.
Nope. Not interested. WEXIT is the only viable option: the Independent Republic of Buffalo.
When are we going to get started on that? I’d rather die for that than for whatever Trudeau is going to cook up for me.
Not interested in being an American.
So the United States admits it can’t control its own border.
Why doesn’t the US redeploy some of the troops it has overseas to the US?
Under Trump, that will happen. It is the globalists in charge currently with US troops in over 100 countries.
Perhaps Trump could asked SNC to build the wall for him?
If he selects SNC (or their successor), I’m sure the Congress will approve funding, cause SNC knew how to get things done!!
No….Biden can’t…..or won’t.
Good thing we never imported 185697 MWh over the Michigan Interconnect so far this year.
Good thing we never imported 12314 MWh over the Minnesota Interconnect so far this year.
Good thing we never imported 248587 MWh over the New York Interconnect so far this year.
Yes, I recognize that we exported a lot more than we imported, (524470, 137939, 5964196 MWh respectively), but that power has to go somewhere, else it starts tripping things, which is way worse than not getting the money (if any) for it.
Someone explain to me why, instead of polishing our economic brass knuckles, we don’t just agree to work on a more secure border with our neighbour? By all means have plans in reserve, but really, it’s just a threat to do something if we do not help control the border; something that will help us both. All this posturing is Trudeau planning on running the next election against Trump, rather than Poilievre. To the detriment of us all.
Someone explain to me why, instead of polishing our economic brass knuckles, we don’t just agree to work on a more secure border with our neighbour?
Because it wasn’t the Narcissist in Chief’s idea. He don’t like being told what to do. Arrogant, self-centered little prick.
Because it’s not our job to enforce American customs or Trump’s stupid imagined ‘threats’ on the border. Also because ‘controlling’ the border is a rathole for money and a recipe for a police state that Alberta is already starting to build.
That’s the question, isn’t it? What’s at stake if the catch-and-release system for illegal immigrants, criminals and drug dealers gets changed to catch-and-deport? Whose chances at re-election tank? The #Pony is the one counting on all those immigrant votes.
Which raises a new question, why is #Dougie going along with the #ShinyPony? That seems wrong.
What’s in it for #Dougie to keep the drugs, illegal immigrants and car-theft rings in business?
Media morons are going to lead the retaliation charge against threats from Trump.
Unfortunately that may be just idiotic enough that Trump will be forced to carry out some of these negotiating positions when it doesn’t have to be that way.
Incompetent canadian dumbsticks will ruin this place, where are the adults in canada?
Trump – enforce the law on your side of the border
Canada – no, we’d prefer a self ruinous trade war
Premier Ozempic keeps losing muscle faster than fat.
Speaking of suicide:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/12/culture-death-5-canadian-deaths-are-now-caused/
The Murder Factory.
Doug Ford must be doing more crack than Rob ever did.
I took a shit this morning that was smarter than Ford
(I sent it down the Ottawa River to Montreal where Turds thrive.)
Ford CAN NOT turn off the power or “energy”.
It doesn’t work that way.
Somebody build an extra big Trebuchet and send that fat fck into orbit.
In 2021 the US exported 10.1 Terawatt hours of electricity to Canada. It imported 48.1 Terawatt hours from Canada.
In 2022 the US exported 10.7 Terawatt hours and imported 52.1 Terawatt hours.
I live in rural Alberta and I am on several community board of directors. At one meeting the Separation of Alberta from Canada was discussed. Out of 8 directors 7 said they would strongly vote for separation, there was only 1 director who said he wasn’t sure how he would vote. I ask Albertans what benefit do the people of Alberta get from being a province in Canada. A few have an emotional attachment but can not articulate a reason to stay.
Making equalization payments is it’s own reward. That feeling of nobility.
Some of the suggestions here are just crack.
“Legalize drugs.” Yeah, we’ll not be legalizing fentanyl anytime soon.
“Open the borders.” Just tried that. We’ll be going the other way, thank you.
“Scream at Trump, show him up, spray spittle on his tie!” Yeah, that’s an intelligent way to deal with someone like Trump. That’ll show him.
“Play tit for tat with the USA. Shut off their power, their imports from Canada . . .” US industry and power structure will be fine. Y’all would lose a lot of your infrastructure and savings that way.
All you really have to do is send an adult down to speak to Trump, and indicate to him that you’re willing to take some steps to help him accomplish what he’s pushing. That’s all it would take. Find an adult who recognizes how to deal with Trump’s ego – which means, find a leader who’s not an insecure little wokist.
We did not in fact just try ‘open borders’. But we really should. And fentanyl wouldn’t even be an issue if heroin were legal.
” indicate to him that you’re willing to take some steps to help him accomplish what he’s pushing”
Not interested in indulging the whims of a fascist who doesn’t understand trade or economics or anything else.
Go ahead. Decriminalize drugs. It has worked so well in BC.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/vancouver-opioid-crisis-drug-addiction-british-columbia-canada/
“We did not in fact just try ‘open borders’. “
Don’t know where you are, but the U.S.A. “we” certainly did.
“And fentanyl wouldn’t even be an issue if heroin were legal.
And get rid of that damned meat and food inspection process! Government overreach! We’ll know when the food is tainted ourselves, when we sicken and die!
“Not interested in indulging the whims of a fascist who doesn’t understand trade or economics or anything else.”
I’m guessing he understands it better than most. You don’t impose tariffs as a tax collection device. You impose it much as you do a traffic ticket or a criminal fine – to discourage behavior. The best tariff is never paid – because it causes the target to change behavior. Just like this situation ought to resolve. And it wouldn’t take much effort.
Unless your outrage over the simple existence of “Orange Man” is enough to cause y’all to commit your own large economic mistake.
In the last 12 months BC only produced 75% of the electrical power that the province consumed; most of the short fall was purchased from the US.
If Doug Ford carries out his threat, BC could be left in the dark. Below is the Global News story that was published Nov 28th.
New numbers show BC Hydro imported a record amount of electricity over the last 12 months.
According to documents filed with the B.C. Utilities Commission, BC Hydro imported 13,600 gigawatt hours of electricity in fiscal year 2024, at a cost of nearly $1.4 billion.
“It’s very disturbing that British Columbia’s now relying on 25 per cent of our electricity to come from outside the province,” Barry Penner with the Energy Futures Institute told Global News.
“Most of that’s from the United States. Just how we got here, I know we’ve had some low water years, but it’s also an indication we just have not been planning ahead and doing what’s really needed to keep pace with the growing demand.”
However, B.C.’s new energy minister Adrian Dix said the number reflects the significant multi-year drought affecting the province.
“We have one of the world’s most significant, most important hydro systems,” he said.
“We’re adding to that hydro system now with sites coming online and we have abundant other energy resources. And you bet we need to build more clean energy to drive our clean economy in B.C. There’s significant demand for that.”
For some perspective, the amount of power imported last year is more than two-and-a-half times what will be produced by the newly-completed $16-billion Site C Dam.
There is an option to get on the Trump train and participate in making North America energy and resource self sufficient (or as much as possible) and bring back some of the manufacturing. But no. Let’s get into a pissing contest we can’t win. A good part of the Libs are dedicated to devolution back to the stone age. Let’s leave all these resources in the ground.