President Donald Trump abruptly suspended trade negotiations with Canada on Thursday after Ontario’s provincial government aired a TV ad in U.S. markets featuring former President Ronald Reagan saying that tariffs “hurt every American worker.”
The White House accused Ontario of misusing Reagan’s 1987 remarks, prompting Trump to denounce the ad as “fraudulent” and call off all talks with Canada.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday that his government “stands ready to resume constructive negotiations” once Washington is prepared to engage, according to Reuters.
Carney has sought to secure relief from Trump’s 25% to 35% tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and automobiles, which have battered manufacturing provinces such as Ontario.
The Reagan Presidential Foundation criticized Ontario’s ad for taking the former president’s comments out of context and said it was considering legal action, according to NBC. Ontario Premier Doug Ford defended the ad, reposting the full five-minute Reagan excerpt and insisting it was drawn from public-domain material.
The breakdown comes just months before a six-year review of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) and weeks ahead of a Supreme Court hearing on whether Trump’s emergency-powers tariffs are constitutional.
Canada was the second largest trade partner of the U.S. in July at $58.3 billion, according to the latest data available from the Census Bureau.
