ONTARIO, Canada (Michigan News Source) – It looks like Michigan’s neighbors to the north might be flirting with the idea of unplugging Michigan’s lights. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Ontario Premier Doug Ford has hinted at the possibility of cutting off energy exports to the United States, and Michigan is smack dab in the crosshairs of this high-stakes energy poker game.

It’s a move that’s part tantrum, part political theater, and entirely alarming for Michigan residents who don’t want to swap their heaters for candles this winter.

Ford vs. Trump: Is Michigan caught in the crossfire?

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After a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday discussing President-Elect Trump’s threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs if they don’t get control over illegal immigration and drugs at their borders. Ford appeared to want to play hard ball with Trump saying, “We will go to the full extent depending how far this goes. We will go to the extent of cutting off their energy, going down to Michigan, going down to New York State and over to Wisconsin. I don’t want this to happen, but my number one job is to protect Ontario, Ontarians and Canadians as a whole since we’re the largest province.”

Ford’s posturing about limiting energy exports appears to be less about policy or being worried about losing energy money and more about flexing political muscles. And who would be left paying the price? Michigan, the unassuming neighbor caught in the middle of this frosty fallout.

Power play or economic misstep?

Canada’s energy exports to the U.S., including Michigan, aren’t acts of goodwill – they’re a multi- billion-dollar industry. Cutting off Michigan and other states wouldn’t just be a diplomatic misstep; it would defy economic logic. In 2023 alone, Canadian energy kept the lights on for 1.5 million U.S. homes.

Canada supplies roughly 60% of U.S. crude oil imports and 85% of its electricity imports and Ontario contributes significantly, providing about 20% of Canada’s electricity exports to America.

Energy crisis or political poker game?

Ford’s warning coincides with Ontario’s own energy struggles due to AI and EV manufacturing. The province is facing soaring demand and questions about how to meet its long-term needs. But instead of addressing its own house, Ford is saber-rattling at states like Michigan, a key trading partner that relies on cross-border energy cooperation.

Cutting off power might grab headlines and produce interesting political sound bites, but it risks unraveling decades of economic ties and trust. Meanwhile, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has yet to respond to Ford’s warning about turning off the energy spigot in Michigan.

Michigan already has power issues to deal with.

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Michigan, even without Ford’s threats, is already having its own problems keeping the lights on in the homes of Michiganders. The state’s utilities collectively rank 49th in the nation and dead last in the Midwest for average power restoration time after an outage according to a recent report from the Citizens Utility Board. As for the average outage duration per customer, Michigan landed at 43rd nationally, again claiming the worst spot in the region. Additionally, critics of Governor Whitmer’s clean energy agenda don’t believe that her goal of having utilities run on mostly solar and wind in the future will meet the electrical needs of the state.

What About Line 5?

Ford’s warning to halt Canadian energy exports to the U.S. could also intensify the years-long treaty negotiations between Trudeau’s government and the Biden administration. At the center of the dispute is Michigan Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel’s push to shut down Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5 pipeline, which transports Canadian oil and natural gas liquids through Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

The Canadian-owned pipeline transports 540,000 barrels of petroleum daily through Michigan in pipes that run along the lakebed at the Straits of Mackinac. Nessel and environmental groups argue that the pipeline poses a significant ecological threat to the Great Lakes in the event of a rupture and they have fought Enbridge repeatedly to get Line 5 shut down.

Enbridge said in a statement to the Detroit News on Wednesday, “The relationship between Canada and the US is key to both energy supply and security, and essential to maintaining U.S. competitiveness and providing people with the energy they need.”