Washington— In a shocking twist, Ontario’s government has decided to pause its anti-tariff ad campaign targeted at the U.S. Just a day after President Trump announced he’d be cutting off trade discussions with Canada over the use of Ronald Reagan’s voice in the ads, Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford revealed on Friday that they would be halting the campaign.
“We’re hitting the brakes effective Monday so trade talks can get back on track,” Ford said. However, he intends to keep pushing their message to American viewers over the weekend, making sure their commercial runs during the first two games of the World Series.
This decision comes in the wake of Trump criticizing the ad on Truth Social, stating: “Because of their outrageous actions, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”
The ofads under scrutiny featured snippets from a 1987 radio address by Reagan, where he opined that tariffs are only effective for a short duration and usually end up hurting American workers.
According to the ad, Reagan remarked, “High tariffs inevitably cause other countries to retaliate, igniting intense trade wars.” They essentially echoed concerns seen in the current U.S.-Canada trade relationship.
White House spokesman Kush Desai commented Fridaybefore Ford’s announcement, explaining that the Trump administration made consistent attempts to mitigate Canada’s longstanding trade barriers but to no avail. Desai continued, stating that the Ontario-funded ad campaign, which was edited misleadingly, reflected a preference for games over constructive engagement.
Maintaining that the intent was merely to spark a dialogue about the economic concerns affected by tariffs, Ford took to X stating: “We’ve done our job by reaching key American audiences.”
In response to the stalled negotiations, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney assured reporters that while they cannot dictate U.S. trade policies, his government remains committed to progressing in talks once the Americans are ready to engage.
Earlier in the week, the Ronald Reagan Foundation stated that the ad utilized selective audio and misrepresented Reagan’s address and that Ontario did not seek permission to use those audio cuts, thus considering legal options.
Trump pointed out the Reagan Foundation’s critique, labeling the Ontario initiative as “FAKE” and accusing it of acting to influence the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on a pending tariff-related lawsuit.
Canada retains a crucial role as the U.S.’s second-largest trading partner after Mexico, with significant trade volumes reported. Last year alone saw U.S. imports from Canada reach $412.7 billion, while Canada sourced $349.4 billion in American goods, according to statistics.
Recent relations have somewhat soured, however, largely due to Trump’s aggressive tariff policies initiated earlier this year. He imposed increased tariffs, citing Canada’s insufficient action against drug trafficking and cross-border issues, claims Canadian officials have denied.
This past summer, tariffs were raised as high as 35%, although many goods are exempt under the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA).
To respond, Canada had originally implemented a 25% countermeasure on several U.S. goods outside the USMCA framework. Yet by August, efforts to negotiate were made, with Carney emphasizing the lifting of tariffs as progress—albeit without a conclusive agreement reached.
In recent developments, Canadian leadership announced ambitions to significantly expand its exports beyond the U.S. markets, expressing concerns over the uncertainties created by American tariffs, while still seeking negotiation opportunities with Trump amid ongoing discussions.
