President Donald Trump abruptly pulled the plug on all trade negotiations with Canada Thursday night, accusing the Ontario provincial government of meddling in U.S. legal affairs by airing what he called a “FAKE” advertisement featuring former President Ronald Reagan.
The dramatic move came after Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a $75 million ad campaign targeting Republican voters in the U.S.
Trump responded with fire, posting on Truth Social:
“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs. The ad was for $75,000,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts.”
The ad aired just as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to weigh in on a critical case that could determine the future of Trump’s sweeping tariff policies. Trump alleged that the timing was not a coincidence.
“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,” Trump added.
Should the U.S. resume trade talks with Canada after Trump's termination?
The Reagan Foundation itself issued a rare public rebuke, stating the ad “misrepresents” Reagan’s 1987 radio address, and emphasized that Reagan’s words were edited without permission.
While the foundation didn’t specify exactly what was misleading, it urged the public to watch the full unedited address on its YouTube channel and said legal action is under review.
See the video below:
The ad, shared by Premier Doug Ford on X, features Reagan warning that while tariffs “look like they’re doing the patriotic thing,” they “hurt every American worker and consumer” in the long run. Ford, who has labeled himself a “big Ronald Reagan fan,” was unapologetic, promising to hammer the message into “every Republican district there is right across the entire country.”
The president’s recent declaration to terminate negotiations is the second time he has said the U.S. was terminating talks with Canada regarding trade.
Trump, who has made tariffs a central pillar of his second-term agenda, isn’t backing down.
