President Trump announced late Thursday he is officially ending trade negotiations with Canada. This abrupt decision, driven by his controversial tariffs on Canadian steel, auto parts, and other key exports, casts fresh doubt over the future relationship with America’s second-largest trading partner.
Using his Truth Social platform, the president declared an end to all trade talks with Canada. His reasoning? An advertising video, funded by the province of Ontario, which prominently featured former President Ronald Reagan delivering a critique of tariffs.
In a strongly worded post, Mr. Trump asserted, ‘TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A.’ He then added, ‘Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,’ signaling a complete breakdown in talks.
Mr. Trump controversially labeled the ad as ‘fake,’ suggesting it was designed ‘to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.’ The Supreme Court is currently reviewing the legality of many of his tariff policies.
However, these quotes were genuinely extracted from a radio address delivered by Mr. Reagan in April 1987. In that speech, he fervently advised Congress against implementing protectionist measures targeting Japan and offered a sharp condemnation of tariffs’ economic consequences. While the ad pieced together excerpts from different sections of Reagan’s address, there is no evidence to suggest any alteration of his original words.
It remains uncertain whether President Trump communicated with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney or any Canadian officials before making this announcement. Neither Mr. Carney’s office nor the White House immediately responded to inquiries. This wasn’t the first time Mr. Trump had acknowledged the controversial ad, though.
Just days prior, on Tuesday, Mr. Trump had told reporters at the White House, ‘I see foreign countries now, that we are doing really well with, taking ads, ‘Don’t go with tariffs.’ They’re taking ads. I saw an ad last night from Canada.’
Interestingly, he had then remarked, ‘If I was Canada I’d take that same ad also.’
However, on Thursday, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute issued a statement on social media, alleging that the Ontario ad utilized ‘selective’ audio and video from Mr. Reagan’s original address. The statement claimed the ad ‘misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address’ but did not offer further specifics.
This very statement from the Reagan Foundation appears to have spurred Mr. Trump’s subsequent Truth Social declaration to terminate trade discussions with Canada.
Mr. Trump’s post stated, ‘The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs.’
President Trump has consistently adopted an aggressive posture towards Canada, a nation vital to both U.S. imports and exports. He has already implemented a substantial 35 percent tariff on several of Canada’s crucial exports and has even provocatively suggested that Canada become the 51st U.S. state.
Over recent months, Canadian public opinion towards the United States has sharply deteriorated due to the Trump administration’s actions. This latest escalation occurs just as the Toronto Blue Jays are set to host the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opening game of the World Series on Friday, a significant national event that typically unites Canadians.
The implications of Mr. Trump’s newest declaration for the bilateral relationship remain ambiguous. The U.S., Canada, and Mexico have been actively preparing for an upcoming review of their trilateral free trade agreement, anticipated to conclude by next summer.
Prime Minister Carney had previously visited Mr. Trump at the White House earlier this month for their second meeting, a seemingly cordial encounter that nevertheless failed to produce any significant progress in trade discussions. Mr. Carney, who has openly stated that Canada’s traditional relationship with the U.S. is a thing of the past, recently outlined an ambitious goal to double Canada’s exports to non-U.S. markets within the next ten years.
The controversial advertisement, which caught President Trump’s attention, was commissioned by the government of Ontario, Canada’s largest province and a crucial hub for economic collaboration with the United States.
Ontario’s government confirmed it invested 75 million Canadian dollars (approximately $53.5 million USD) to air the commercial. It debuted in the U.S. last week during a Blue Jays game against the Seattle Mariners and was slated for a two-week run.
In the advertisement, Mr. Reagan is quoted saying, ‘When someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products.’ However, he cautions that tariffs lead to harm: ‘Markets shrink and collapse,’ and ‘industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs.’
The 1987 radio address by Mr. Reagan was delivered from Camp David, preceding a visit from the Japanese prime minister to Washington. At that time, American frustration was mounting over Japan’s expanding trade surplus, yet leaders like Reagan remained firm believers in the advantages of free trade.
While Reagan had recently imposed certain tariffs on Japanese goods due to Japan’s non-compliance with a semiconductor trade agreement, he simultaneously implored Congress not to further limit his policy options with additional protectionist actions. He vehemently criticized the economic fallout of tariffs, arguing that they would ultimately diminish the competitiveness of protected industries and trigger trade wars, leading to job losses across America.
Doug Ford, Ontario’s premier, unveiled the ad on October 16th, asserting in a Facebook post on his official page that ‘we’ll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada.’
In an earlier speech, explaining his motivation for the ad, Mr. Ford recalled listening to Reagan’s address and thinking, ‘Let’s take Ronald Reagan’s words and let’s blast it to the American people.’