Trump Cuts Off Trade Talks With Canada Over ‘Fake’ Reagan Ad

In a late-night post that reignited trade tensions, US President Donald Trump announced the termination of all trade talks with Canada, accusing Ottawa of using a “fraudulent” advertisement featuring former President Ronald Reagan.

“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday night.

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

The ad, reportedly produced by the Ontario government, used edited excerpts from Reagan’s 1987 radio address on “Free and Fair Trade,” a move the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute condemned earlier that day.

The foundation said Ontario did not receive permission “to use and edit the remarks” of the late president, and that it was “reviewing legal options.” It urged viewers to watch the unedited version of Reagan’s original speech.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford had previously boasted that the ad, in which Reagan criticises tariffs and warns they “cause job losses and trade wars,” had caught Trump’s eye.

“I heard that the president heard our ad. I’m sure he wasn’t too happy,” Ford said Tuesday.

Ford later doubled down online, posting: “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.”

Trump’s outburst follows comments from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said Canada plans to double its exports to non-US markets amid rising US tariffs.
Carney also warned that Ottawa wouldn’t grant unfair US access to Canadian markets if trade talks collapsed.

The two countries had been negotiating for weeks after Trump slapped tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium, and autos, triggering tit-for-tat measures from Ottawa.

Canada’s prime minister’s office has not yet commented on Trump’s declaration that all trade talks have ended.

Despite the rhetoric, the stakes remain enormous: three-quarters of Canada’s exports still go south of the border, with C$3.6 billion ($2.7bn) worth of goods and services crossing daily.