Ontario Premier Doug Ford attends an availability at Chapman’s Ice Cream in Markdale, Ont., on Friday, September 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young · The Canadian Press
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the flow of Canadian critical minerals, uranium, and potash to the United States could be cut off if President Donald Trump continues to threaten Canada’s economy.
Speaking at the 2025 Toronto Global Forum on Thursday morning, Ford said the U.S. needs Canada as a partner in order to meet growing energy demand, particularly from the data centres needed to fuel rapid adoption of artificial intelligence.
“They’re in desperate need of our energy,” Ford said. “Uranium gets shipped from Saskatchewan over to Port Hope in Ontario, gets refined here, and then gets enriched down in the U.S.. They have 94 turbines that rely on Canadian uranium.”
He also spoke about critical minerals. These include metals like nickel and cobalt, which are widely used in electric vehicle batteries, as well as other rare earth elements for high-tech applications like smartphones, laptops, medical devices, and defence systems.
“We will not send a grain of critical minerals down there as long as we’re under constant attack by President Trump,” Ford said. “’I’d love to send them down to our neighbours, but it’s not going to happen.”
Ford also noted U.S. reliance on Canadian-produced potash, a key fertilizer used by American farmers.
“Farmers all throughout the U.S. rely on potash coming from Saskatchewan,” he said. “They’d be devastated if you cut them off on potash.”
More to follow.
Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on X @jefflagerquist.
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