Ottawa: US President-elect Donald Trump had warned of imposing tariffs on Canada. In response, Canada has threatened its neighbor America. A top Canadian official warned that energy supplies to the US could be cut off in response to the tariffs. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario province, said in a threatening tone, ‘We may go as far as blocking their energy supplies from going to Michigan, New York State and Wisconsin.’ Ford said that if Trump imposes a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada, Canada will have to use all its options. Since Canada is not a major producer of crude oil. In such a situation, Ford’s threat is being considered mainly for the electricity that America imports from Canada. “Canadians will be hurt, but I can assure you of one thing,” Ford said. Americans will also feel its impact and that is unfortunate. Trump’s proposed tariffs could increase the risk of recession for the Canadian economy. Ford’s warning shows that some in Canada are also in favor of a strong response. Trudeau’s approval will be needed, but can Canada do this? Experts say that any such retaliatory action would require approval from the Canadian federal government. A trade war would harm the economies of both countries. This will only harm consumers and businesses on both sides of the border. “This is a threat that should not be ignored,” said Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. Canada does not want to tolerate this quietly.’How much power does it buy? The United States regularly imports hydropower from Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. Canada imports the most electricity from the US. However, this is a very small part of the total consumption. According to the US Energy Information Administration, the US imported 38.9 million megawatt hours of electricity last year. Most of this, 33.2 million megawatt hours, came from Canada. However, this is less than 1 percent of the electricity consumption in America every year.