U.S. President Donald Trump greets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney upon his arrival in the West Wing of the White House May 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Thursday night he was ending all trade negotiations with Canada because the Ontario provincial government aired an ad in which former President Ronald Reagan spoke negatively about tariffs.
Trump’s announcement, which accuses Canada of trying to influence an upcoming Supreme Court case over many of its tariffs, came after the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said the Ontario government’s ad misrepresents a presidential radio speech Reagan gave in April 1987 and that his remarks were altered without authorization.
The foundation did not specify what was misleading. But he encouraged people to listen to a previously unseen video of his speech on his YouTube channel. He also said he was reviewing his legal options.
“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada fraudulently used a FALSE ad featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social article. “They only did this to interfere with the decision of the United States Supreme Court and other courts.”
“TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND ECONOMY OF THE United States. As a result of their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE TERMINATED,” Trump wrote. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!
On October 14, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the province would spend $75 million on ads in the United States featuring Reagan criticizing tariffs.
“And we’re going to repeat that message in every Republican constituency across the country,” said Ford, who calls himself a “huge fan of Ronald Reagan.”
Ford posted the ad on X on October 16.
In the ad, Reagan is heard saying, over images of American landscapes, interior scenes and workplaces: “When someone says, ‘Let’s put tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re making a patriotic gesture by protecting American products and jobs. »
“And sometimes it works for a short time, but only for a short time,” Reagan says. “But in the long run, such trade barriers harm all American workers and consumers.
Trump has made tariffs a central plank of his second term in the White House.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in November in a case that will determine whether Trump had the authority to impose many of his sweeping tariffs.
Thursday was the second time Trump announced he was ending trade talks with Canada.
On June 27, he said the United States was “ending ALL trade discussions with Canada” in response to Ottawa’s decision to impose a digital services tax on American technology companies.
Canada canceled this tax two days later, all
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