Trump says trade talks with Canada ‘terminated,’ claiming Ontario used ‘fake’ anti-tariff Reagan ad

OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump says he has “terminated” trade talks with Canada, taking issue with an anti-tariff ad taken out by Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government featuring former U.S. president Ronald Reagan that the president says was “fake.”

Trump announced the move in a post on Truth Social late Thursday.

“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs. The ad was for $75,000,” Trump wrote.

“They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts. TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT.”

The move comes after Ontario paid to run a new ad against U.S. tariffs, using parts of a 1987 speech Reagan delivered.

Ontario started running the $75 million ad campaign in U.S. markets targeting Republicans two weeks ago.

The ads include audio from a radio address by Reagan in 1987 saying, “High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse. Businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs.”

In a post on X, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation (and) Institute directed users to listen to the former president’s unedited remarks, which include several sentences in the middle of the excerpt that were not included in the Ontario ads.

The foundation, in a statement that Trump included in his post, said that it was “reviewing its legal options.”

“The ad misrepresents the presidential radio address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks,” it said.

The development comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to depart for a nine-day trip to Asia, and turns on its head any progress his government felt it was making with the Trump administration to secure some sector-specific relief for U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs.

Carney and Ford appeared alongside each other earlier on Thursday, where both leaders said they were aligned in dealing with the Trump administration, despite their different public approaches.

Ford has repeatedly called for Canada to hit the U.S. with additional countermeasures in the face of Trump continuing to increase tariffs on products such as softwood lumber. Carney has so far ruled out doing so, in favour of sticking with negotiations, and has dropped some retaliatory counter-tariffs.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Ford admitted it might be “a little easier” for him to criticize from the sidelines as opposed to having to deal with Trump directly.

National Post, with files from Catherine Lévesque

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