Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed to pull a controversial anti-tariff ad that featured Ronald Reagan criticizing the economic strategy in the U.S. after President Donald Trump threatened to terminate trade negotiations with Canada.
Trump called the ad “fake” in a TruthSocial post Thursday and claimed the country “fraudulently took a big ad buy” to take Reagan’s thoughts on tariffs out of context.
Ford said he will pull the Reagan ad off the air in the next week but not before it airs during the World Series games this weekend. The premier said on social media he made the decision to “pause” the campaign after “speaking with Prime Minister [Mark] Carney” so that trade talks between the two countries “can resume.”
“Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford wrote in a post to X on Friday. “We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels. I’ve directed my team to keep putting our message in front of Americans over the weekend so that we can air our commercial during the first two World Series games.”
The ad features Reagan negatively speaking about tariffs in a 1987 radio address made from Camp David, warning that they can lead to market collapse and job loss. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute issued a statement Thursday night, condemning the Ontario government for running an ad that “misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address.” They added that the government never reached out for permission to use or edit the remarks.
Trump claimed the ad was made for $75 million, adding they “only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts. TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a post to X that she was pleased to see the ad off of the air.
“I once again urge the federal government to continue negotiating to resolve these tariff issues and restore a free and fair trade agreement with the United States, while diversifying and strengthening the Canadian economy by unleashing our world-class natural resource sector,” she added.
Prime Minister Carney said he was ready to resume trade talks when the president is ready.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said Americans cannot afford Donald Trump’s price-spiking tariff temper tantrums. The U.S. Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan group, called Trump’s tariffs the largest tax hike on Americans since 1993.
