Trump says all trade talks with Canada have been 'TERMINATED' over anti-tariffs advert

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has said he’s ending all trade talks with Canada over an anti-tariff advertising campaign.

The sudden about-face come weeks after a cordial White House meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

On his Truth Social network, Trump vented fury at what he called a “fake” ad that he said misquoted former US president Ronald Reagan discussing tariff policy.

Trump said the campaign – produced by the Canadian province of Ontario to be aired on US television channels – was designed to “interfere with the decision of the US Supreme Court,” which is due to rule on his sweeping global tariffs.

“Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump posted.

There was no immediate comment from officials in Canada, where Carney said in a budget speech this week that Washington’s “fundamentally changed” trade policy required a revamp of Ottawa’s economic strategy.

Trump said “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 foundation wrote on X that the Ontario government had used “selective audio and video” from a radio address on trade that Reagan had delivered in 1987.

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It said the ad “misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks”, adding that it was reviewing its legal options.

The ad used quotes from Reagan’s speech, in which he warned against some of the ramifications that high tariffs on foreign imports could have on the US economy.

It cited Reagan as saying that “high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,” a quote that matches a transcript of his speech on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library’s website.

Sharing the ad, Ontario premier Doug Ford wrote on X: “It’s official: Ontario’s new advertising campaign in the US has launched.

“Using every tool we have, we’ll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada. The way to prosperity is by working together,” he said. 

The latest twist in relations between the US and Canada came just over two weeks after Carney visited Trump at the White House to seek a relaxation of stiff US tariffs.

At that meeting, Trump described Carney as a “world-class leader” and said the Canadian would “walk away very happy” from their discussion.

Trump’s global sectoral tariffs – particularly on steel, aluminum, and autos – have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and squeezing businesses.

For now, the US and Canada continue to adhere to an existing North American trade deal called the USMCA, which ensures that roughly 85% of cross-border trade in both directions remains tariff-free.

With reporting from © AFP 2025 

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