Trump Ends Trade Talks With Canada Over An Advertisement: What Was In It That Set Him Off?

Last Updated:October 24, 2025, 16:14 IST

The ad, produced by the Ontario government and aired in the US, featured former US President Ronald Reagan. Trump saw it and then axed Canada trade talks

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney talks with President Donald Trump before a group photo at the G7 Summit. (AP file photo)

A $75 million television advertisement produced by the Ontario government has triggered an unexpected collapse in US–Canada trade talks. The ad, which aired in the United States earlier this week, used old audio and video of former President Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs, a policy central to US President Donald Trump’s economic agenda. Within hours of seeing the footage, Trump posted a fiery response on Truth Social, announcing that all trade negotiations with Canada were “hereby terminated."

Calling the ad “fraudulent" and “fake," Trump accused Canada of interfering with a looming US Supreme Court verdict on the legality of his tariffs. The Reagan Foundation also weighed in, accusing Ontario of using the 1987 material without permission and threatening legal action.

The fallout now risks derailing months of diplomatic efforts by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to ease the burden of US import duties on key Canadian sectors.

What Did The Ad Show?

The ad campaign was commissioned by the government of Ontario and aired across US networks such as Newsmax and Bloomberg. It featured a one-minute excerpt from Reagan’s April 15, 1987, radio address to the American people, one in which he warned that high tariffs could trigger economic retaliation and job losses.

“When someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works, but only for a short time," Reagan said in the clip. He continued: “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."

The message cut directly against Trump’s tariff-heavy trade policies, and it wasn’t lost on US viewers or the White House. Trump said he saw the ad air during primetime and viewed it as a strategic attack on both his economic doctrine and upcoming legal tests of it.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who led the ad campaign, had earlier confirmed the province was spending $75 million to broadcast Reagan’s anti-tariff stance widely across the US. “I’m a big Ronald Reagan fan… we’re going to repeat that message to every Republican district there is, right across the entire country," Ford said while announcing the ad campaign.

Ford later acknowledged that the ad had reached its intended audience. “I heard that the president heard our ad. I’m sure he wasn’t too happy," he said.

Trump’s Reaction: A Swift And Public Termination

Trump’s decision to end trade talks came swiftly. Writing on Truth Social, he accused Canada of not only misrepresenting Reagan but of deliberately trying to sway judicial outcomes.

“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs," Trump wrote. “TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behaviour, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED."

He added: “They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts."

Trump was referring to an upcoming Supreme Court ruling expected in November, which will determine whether his administration’s wide-ranging tariffs, imposed on several countries including Canada, are constitutionally valid.

Interestingly, he initially told reporters, “I saw an ad last night from Canada… If I was Canada, I’d take that same ad also," before later declaring it fraudulent and hostile on social media.

What The Reagan Foundation Said About The Ad

The Reagan Foundation backed Trump’s complaint. In a formal statement on Thursday, the institution said the Ontario government had never requested nor been granted permission to use Reagan’s 1987 remarks.

“The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address (by Reagan in 1987), and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks," the Foundation said.

It also stated that legal options were being explored, and urged the public to view the full version of Reagan’s address on its official YouTube channel for context.

Why Ontario Took This Route

Ontario is Canada’s largest province by both population and economic contribution, and one of the worst-hit regions under Trump’s tariff regime. Since the beginning of the year, the US has imposed up to 35 per cent duties on Canadian exports including steel, aluminium, autos, lumber and copper. Goods covered under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) remain exempt, but a substantial chunk of Ontario’s economy has been affected.

Doug Ford’s government said the intent behind the ad was not to provoke, but to lay out what it saw as economic realities. In a social media post, Ford said, “The way to prosperity is by working together." He also described the ad as “not nasty but very factual" in its criticism of tariffs.

Trump, however, saw the move as a political provocation, particularly coming from a foreign government, and responded with the abrupt axing of trade negotiations.

Where Canada Stood Before The Ad Blew Things Up

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had met Trump at the White House on October 7 to push for the removal or easing of tariffs. At the time, Trump praised him as a “world-class leader" and said Carney would be “very happy" with their conversation, although he made no concrete concessions.

When asked about the Reagan ad last week, Carney said: “The quote of former President Ronald Reagan was recognising that ultimately somebody pays the tariff, and it’s the consumer."

He added: “The company passes it on, the price goes up eventually, and you pay the cost of the tariff. I don’t agree with their policy, but I recognize that it is their policy, and I don’t expect it to change."

Both Carney and Ford have so far refrained from commenting on Trump’s latest announcement.

How Big Is The Trade Relationship At Risk?

The United States and Canada share one of the world’s most tightly integrated trade partnerships. More than 75 per cent of Canada’s exports go to the US, and goods and services worth nearly 3.6 billion Canadian dollars (approximately US$2.7 billion) cross the border every day.

The end of negotiations doesn’t cancel existing trade mechanisms such as USMCA, but it does freeze dialogue over contentious tariffs that have already strained industries on both sides.

The timing also adds weight. Trump and Carney are scheduled to attend upcoming ASEAN and APEC summits in Malaysia and South Korea this week. Whether the issue resurfaces on the sidelines of those meetings remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the Reagan clip used by Ontario has drawn global interest. Earlier this year, China’s embassy in Washington used the same audio to question the logic of US tariffs. The fact that it has now triggered the collapse of Canada’s trade talks underscores just how politically charged Reagan’s decades-old message remains.

News world Trump Ends Trade Talks With Canada Over An Advertisement: What Was In It That Set Him Off?

Read More