Canada's energy minister is relishing the prospect of telling the United States "no" if it comes begging for more electricity.
According to an article by Politico, Canadian Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said that his government is racing to build mines and electricity projects in response to President Donald Trump's economic aggression. Hodgson said that Canada doesn't plan to share the resources from those projects.
"Nothing would make me happier than when the United States asks us for more electricity to say, 'You know what, we've got a lot of mines we need to develop in northern British Columbia,'" Hodgson said. "Nothing would make me happier than just saying, 'You know what, we're going to use all our electricity here. We're going to build new mines, new processing facilities.'"
The defiance comes as Washington leans on Canadian resources despite Trump's insistence otherwise, Politico reported. Canada supplied more than 80 percent of U.S. electricity imports in 2025, according to the Canada Energy Regulator.
Canada just broke ground on the North Coast Transmission Line in Prince George, British Columbia. The line is an expanded grid that would double electricity capacity in British Columbia to power mines near the Alaskan border and liquefied natural gas shipments to Asia, according to Politico.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told Politico last year that Trump was "very interested" in Canada's energy and critical minerals, despite Trump's current conflict and tariff war with the country. According to Politico, Washington sees Canada's stockpiles as a defense against Chinese dominance of the global market in critical minerals, which are essential to defense, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and almost every piece of technology.
"The president continues to denigrate and insult the massive contribution that British Columbians and Canadians make to American energy security," British Columbia Premier David Eby said, per Politico.
Now, Hodgson is looking for payback, telling Politico, "I don't get mad. I get even."