Why has Trump ended trade talks with Canada over a Reagan advertisement?

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An advertisement released successful the United States by Canada’s biggest state featuring erstwhile US President Ronald Reagan has acceptable disconnected caller tensions betwixt Washington and Ottawa, which already had icy relations implicit President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.

In a station connected Truth Social connected Thursday night, Trump claimed that the advertisement – which shows Reagan, a chap Republican, speaking negatively astir tariffs arsenic an economical argumentation – was “fake”. He cited comments by the Ronald Reagan Foundation that described the clip of the erstwhile president utilized successful the commercialized arsenic doctored.

What was the advertisement aired by Ontario?

On October 14, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, said his state would walk 75 cardinal Canadian dollars (US$54m) to tally anti-tariff advertisements connected mainstream channels successful the US.

Ford has been a professional of Trump’s tariff policy, and Ontario, known for its alloy industry, has been severely deed by the US levies. Ontario is location to much than a 3rd of Canada’s colonisation and the country’s biggest city, Toronto.

On October 16, Ford posted the advertisement connected his X relationship and said Canada volition “never halt making the lawsuit against American tariffs”.

The minute-long advert features remarks by Reagan from a nationalist code successful April 1987 astir escaped and just trade. In that speech, Reagan spoke of tariffs helium had precocious imposed connected Japan, astatine the clip a large economical rival, earlier arguing that specified duties were astatine champion a short-term fix.

“When idiosyncratic says, ‘Let’s enforce tariffs connected overseas imports,’ it looks similar they’re doing the patriotic happening by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for a abbreviated while, it works, but lone for a abbreviated time,” Reagan is heard saying successful the ad. His remarks play implicit visuals similar the New York Stock Exchange, workplace fields and cranes featuring US and Canadian flags.

“Over the agelong run, specified commercialized barriers wounded each American, idiosyncratic and consumer,” Reagan says.

“High tariffs inevitably pb to retaliation by overseas countries and the triggering of fierce commercialized wars. … Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries unopen down and millions of radical suffer their jobs,” Reagan adds.

It’s official: Ontario’s caller advertizing run successful the U.S. has launched.

Using each instrumentality we have, we’ll ne'er halt making the lawsuit against American tariffs connected Canada. The mode to prosperity is by moving together.

Watch our caller ad. pic.twitter.com/SgIVC1cqMJ

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) October 16, 2025

According to Canadian media reports, Ford calls himself a instrumentality of Reagan, and his bureau said the anti-tariff advertisement volition look connected US platforms similar Bloomberg and Fox News by the extremity of October. His bureau added that the advertisement seeks to people Republican voters successful the US who volition recognize the interaction of tariffs erstwhile they perceive the erstwhile president’s voice.

Is the advertisement fake?

In a station connected X precocious connected Thursday, however, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, which advances Reagan’s bequest and principles, said the advert by Ontario was edited.

“The advertisement misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not question nor person support to usage and edit the remarks,” the institute said successful the post, which included a nexus to Reagan’s archetypal address.

The institute did not explicate however precisely the code was misrepresented but added that it was reviewing ineligible options to woody with the matter.

Al Jazeera reviewed the substance of the archetypal code arsenic it appears connected the website of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum. It includes each the statements Reagan is heard saying successful his vigor address.

But the comments successful the advertisement don’t look successful the aforesaid series arsenic Reagan’s speech. Instead, Ford’s squad appears to person patched unneurotic antithetic sections of Reagan’s code to marque their statement stronger and marque it travel better.

For instance, successful the advertisement, Reagan is heard saying astir tariffs: “And sometimes, for a abbreviated while, it works, but lone for a abbreviated time. Over the agelong run, specified commercialized barriers wounded each American, idiosyncratic and consumer. High tariffs inevitably pb to retaliation by overseas countries and the triggering of fierce commercialized wars. Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries unopen down, and millions of radical suffer their jobs.”

In the existent address, Reagan made the remark astir commercialized barriers hurting Americans successful the agelong tally successful the introductory portion of his speech. He talked astir however tariffs assistance lone for a “short time” overmuch aboriginal successful the speech. The remark astir retaliatory steps taken by different countries comes successful a antithetic conception of the speech.

And the condemnation astir markets shrinking and millions losing their jobs comes successful yet different portion of the address.

Although Reagan’s archetypal comments look to person been edited and spliced unneurotic by the Ontario premier’s team, the advertisement appears sincere to the thrust of Reagan’s connection – that tariffs, if wielded arsenic an economical weapon, indispensable beryllium utilized lone sparingly and for a abbreviated time, oregon they tin wounded Americans.

Listen to President Reagan's unedited remarks here: https://t.co/1gQUcbR4eZ pic.twitter.com/iqmjSuypp0

— Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute (@RonaldReagan) October 24, 2025

Why has Trump ended commercialized talks implicit the ad?

Trump said the advertisement is Canada’s mode of trying “to interfere with the determination of the US Supreme Court, and different courts”.

After entering bureau successful January, Trump imposed tariffs connected imports from galore countries astir the world, saying helium sought to punish countries with whom the US runs commercialized deficits, rise US authorities revenues and rebuild US manufacturing.

His medication initially imposed a 25 percent tariff connected astir Canadian goods, exempting lone products covered by a escaped commercialized statement that exists betwixt Canada, the US and Mexico from Trump’s archetypal term.

Then successful August, Trump raised the tariffs connected Canada to 35 percent, alleging that Ottawa was not doing capable to halt the travel of fentanyl into the US. The Canadian authorities successful July, however, pointed retired that “the volumes of fentanyl moving from Canada into the US are negligible.” The authorities noted that according to information from US Customs and Border Patrol, since 2022, “about 1 tenth of 1 percent of fentanyl seizures are attributed to the Northern US Border oregon crossing into the US from Canada.”

Besides tariffs, the US president has besides repeatedly threatened to annex Canada. In February, helium said if Canada became the 51st US state, it would assistance Canadians. “The radical would wage overmuch little taxation than they’re paying close now. They’d person cleanable subject protection,” helium told reporters successful Washington, DC, portion signing a memorandum connected tariffs.

Negotiations betwixt Canada and the US to unafraid a commercialized woody had been going connected for months. The Ontario advertisement besides comes astatine a clip erstwhile the US Supreme Court is poised to determine connected the legality of Trump’s planetary tariffs authorities successful November. An appellate tribunal had earlier declared them illegal. If the apical tribunal finds that Trump does not person the powerfulness to instrumentality specified tariffs, past the US authorities mightiness person to refund companies who person been paying the customs duties since they came into effect.

Besides Canada, Chinese officials person besides shared Reagan’s 1987 tariffs code connected societal media aft Trump announced the penalties connected respective countries successful April.

What does this mean for aboriginal US-Canada trade?

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ford person not yet commented connected Trump’s announcement connected Thursday of ending commercialized talks implicit the Reagan advertisement.

Ian Lesser, a distinguished chap and caput of The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF)’s Brussels office, said Trump’s absorption to the advertisement is apt arsenic overmuch astir his highly personalised attack to planetary argumentation arsenic it is astir commercialized policy.

“The US-Canada narration is enormously important to some sides successful economic, information and people-to-people terms. The existent friction and highly antagonistic ambiance is unprecedented for a narration of specified structural importance,” helium told Al Jazeera.

“It is partially astir argumentation differences connected commercialized and regulatory matters, but it is progressively astir a strident benignant and its effect connected Canadian nationalist opinion,” helium said, adding that nationalist sentiment successful Canada has turned precise antagonistic towards the US and Trump.

“This creates an situation successful which the sermon betwixt Washington and Ottawa is besides precise overmuch astir home politics, particularly connected the Canadian side,” helium added.

Moreover, this is not the archetypal clip commercialized talks betwixt Canada and the US person stalled.

On June 27 aft Canada announced it was going to enforce its Digital Services Tax (DST) connected US firms, Trump called the Canadian taxation a “direct and blatant attack”. He further wrote connected his Truth Social platform: “Based connected this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions connected Trade with Canada, effectual immediately.”

Canada’s Digital Services Tax Act came into effect successful June 2024, and nether it, Canada could complaint a taxation of 3 percent connected the integer services gross a steadfast makes from Canadian users supra 20 cardinal Canadian dollars (US$14.6m) successful a calendar year.

Just 2 days aft Trump’s announcement, Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said successful a connection that Ottawa would rescind the DST connected US companies to enactment commercialized negotiations with Washington.

Canada is among the apical US trading partners, and much than 77 percent of Canada’s exports spell to the US. According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, US goods and services commercialized with Canada totalled US$909.1bn successful 2024.

But US tariffs person peculiarly impacted Canada’s alloy and aluminium sector.

“In areas wherever we compete, we person to travel to an statement that works,” Carney told journalists aft a meeting with Trump astatine the White House this period arsenic helium sought to execute a commercialized woody and trim tariffs connected Canadian goods.

Any specified statement present looks distant.

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