US and Canada spar over ad of Reagan denouncing tariffs that led to derailed trade talks | Trump administration
After the United States suspended all trade talks with Canada over Ronald Reagan’s 1987 speech denouncing tariffs that enraged Donald Trump, Ontario’s premier said he plans to run an ad re-enacting that speech during Friday’s World Series.
Doug Ford, whose government released the Reagan ad in U.S. markets this week, first posted on X that the two countries are “stronger together,” while Trump added his own social media posts touting the supposed benefits of tariffs.
“Canada and the United States are friends, neighbors and allies. President Ronald Reagan knew we were stronger together,” Ford said. wrote to x Next to the Reagan video. “God bless Canada and God bless the United States.”
Ford said the ad would air during the first game of the World Series, but after speaking with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, Ford announced the campaign would end on Monday.
“Our intention was always to spark a discussion about the type of economy Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford said. “We achieved our goal by reaching the highest level of audience in the USA.”
The rapid collapse in relations was apparently caused by Reagan’s one-minute television commercial, which included a radio address declaring that “trade barriers harm every American worker.”
Embers replied On Truth Social, he announced the “termination of all trade negotiations with Canada,” with no evidence that Canada had somehow run a “fraudulent” and “fake” ad.
Secretary of State Rubio told reporters on Friday that Ford had run ads in the United States that “took President Reagan’s words out of context,” adding that the Reagan Foundation also criticized the effort. “The President announced that he is suspending all trade talks with Canada for now,” Rubio said.
The Reagan Foundation said Thursday that the Ontario government’s ad “misrepresented” Reagan’s address, but did not explain how. He added that officials “did not seek or obtain permission to use and edit the statements” and that the organization was reviewing its legal options.
He also encouraged people to watch the video of Reagan’s speech on his YouTube channel.
Ford’s office responded by re-releasing the longer, five-minute excerpt and in question It was stated that the ad used “an unedited excerpt from one of Reagan’s public addresses, available via the public domain.”
Democratic lawmakers on the House ways and means committee stepped in to defend the Ontario ad. “This is the ad that pushed Trump to cancel all trade talks with Canada,” the committee said published on social media. “Unlike Trump’s AI nonsense, this is real, and he uses Reagan’s own words on tariffs.”
The dispute comes as both countries face critical deadlines in the next few weeks. Signs of next week interruption for public comments On the planned review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which faces its mandatory six-year review in July 2026. The next day, November 4, Carney submit a federal budget It is expected to focus on reducing dependence on US markets.
Then on November 5, the US supreme court will hear Trump’s constitutional challenges. apply tariffs under emergency powers. A federal appeals court ruled in August that such sweeping mandates exceed presidential authority and potentially undermine the legal basis for the 35% tariffs currently imposed on Canadian steel, aluminum, lumber and automobiles.
Chris Sands, director of the Center for Canadian Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, suggested that the collapse in talks merely formalized an impasse.
“Can we stop the trade talks? Yes, you can stop the talks on steel, aluminum, energy, all of these,” he said.
“But there was no evidence that we were going anywhere anyway.”
Sands noted the irony of Trump quoting Reagan while reversing his business legacy. “Reagan loved the country; he loved free trade. Maybe Donald Trump believes that, but that’s not what he’s selling right now.”
Washington imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada this spring, prompting retaliation from Ottawa before Trump raised the tariffs to 35% in August. Ontario, which is heavily dependent on cross-border manufacturing and the automotive trade, has been particularly affected. This collapse eventually forces Carney to deal with domestic pressure in a minority government.
“Carney is trying to keep all the states together,” Sands said. “Angry Canadians are walking a tightrope between angry Trump and prime ministers going off script.”
Before departing for Asia on Friday morning, Carney acknowledged the changed reality. “We cannot control U.S. trade policy,” he told reporters, noting that U.S. policy has changed fundamentally from previous decades.
But he stressed that Canada is ready to restart detailed negotiations on the steel, aluminum and energy sectors: “When Americans are ready to have those discussions, because it will benefit workers in the United States, workers in Canada and families in both countries.”
Carney said Canada will focus for now on the things it can control: building at home and “developing new partnerships and opportunities, including with the economic giants of Asia.”
