Donald Trump says he is ending all trade talks with Canada based on an anti-tariff ad the Ontario government is running featuring former U.S. President Ronald Reagan warning about the economic threats posed by tariffs.
The ad contains a radio address made by Reagan in 1987 in which he says, “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 Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs,” Trump said in a late-night post on his Truth Social platform. “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.”
The Ronald Reagan Foundation says it is reviewing its legal options, noting that 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 Ford government spent $75 million on the ads, which began airing earlier this month on various news outlets in the United State,s including Newsmax, Bloomberg, FOX, NBC, CBS and CNBC. They are scheduled to run until the end of January 2026.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office said in a statement in response to the Reagan Foundation that the former president was a strong supporter of free and fair trade between Canada and America.
Ford has been a vocal opponent of Trump’s tariff policies, often appearing on network news in the U.S. to rail against a trade war and tout Ontario’s role in a healthy economy between the two nations.
