United States President Donald Trump terminated all trade negotiations with Canada late Thursday, citing a television advertisement by Ontario that featured former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs. Trump accused Canadian officials of trying to interfere with legal challenges to his tariffs before the United States Supreme Court.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Canada fraudulently used a fake advertisement featuring Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs. The president wrote that based on their egregious behavior, all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated.
The advertisement in question was part of a 75 million dollar campaign launched by the Ontario government to oppose American tariffs. The ad uses excerpts from Reagan’s April 1987 radio address on free trade, in which he warned that tariffs may seem patriotic but ultimately hurt consumers and lead to trade wars and job losses.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted the advertisement and wrote that Canada would never stop making the case against American tariffs. Ontario spent the money to air the ads on major United States television networks including Fox News, NBC, CBS, and ABC.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said the ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks. The foundation said it is reviewing legal options. A spokesperson for Ford said the commercial uses an unedited excerpt from one of Reagan’s public addresses, which is available through public domain.
Trump claimed the ad was designed to interfere with Supreme Court oral arguments scheduled for early next month in a case challenging his tariffs. The president defended tariffs as very important to the national security and economy of the United States.
Trump announced a 35 percent tariff on all Canadian goods in August, though products covered under the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) were exempt. Roughly 85 percent of cross border trade in both directions remains tariff free as the United States and Canada continue to adhere to the existing North American trade deal.
Canada’s economy has been hit hard by Trump’s steep sectoral tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum, lumber, and energy, which fall under the USMCA that Trump brokered during his first term. Canada’s unemployment rate is now at its highest point in nine years.
Trump’s announcement came one day after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a strategy for Canada to double exports to countries outside the United States within a decade due to Trump’s tariffs. Prime Minister Carney said many of Canada’s former strengths based on close ties to America have become vulnerabilities.
The talks that Trump abruptly cancelled have been ongoing for the past two weeks in Washington, following a meeting between Carney and Trump in the Oval Office in early October. This is the second time Trump has said he is terminating trade talks with Canada. On June 27, Trump said the United States was terminating all discussions on trade with Canada in response to Ottawa’s decision to impose a digital services tax on American tech firms.
The White House has not indicated whether the decision to halt trade talks is temporary or permanent. Carney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The prime minister was set to leave Friday morning for a summit in Asia.
