Trump says he's ending trade talks with Canada over TV ads

Washington | President Donald Trump said late Thursday that he was ending “all trade negotiations” with Canada because of a television ad opposing US tariffs that he said misstated the facts and called “egregious behaviour” aimed at influencing US court decisions.

The post on Trump's social media site came after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he aims to double his country's exports to countries outside the US because of the threat posed by Trump's tariffs.

Trump's call for an abrupt end to negotiations could further inflame trade tensions that already have been building between the two neighbouring countries for months.

Trump posted, “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 ad was for $75,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the US Supreme Court, and other courts,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behaviour, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.” Carney's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The prime minister was set to leave Friday morning for a summit in Asia, while Trump is set to do the same Friday evening.

Earlier Thursday night, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute posted on X that an ad created by the government of Ontario “misrepresents the 'Presidential Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade' dated April 25, 1987”. It added that Ontario did not receive foundation permission “to use and edit the remarks”.

The foundation said it is “reviewing legal options in this matter” and invited the public to watch the unedited video of Reagan's address.

Carney met with Trump earlier this month to try to ease trade tensions, as the two countries and Mexico prepare for a review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement — a trade deal Trump negotiated in his first term, but has since soured on.

More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the US, and nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border daily.

Trump said earlier this week that he had seen the ad on television and said that it showed that his tariffs were having an impact.

“I saw an ad last night from Canada. If I was Canada, I'd take that same ad also,” he said then.

In his own post on X last week, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, posted a link to the ad and the message: “It's official: Ontario's new advertising campaign in the US has launched.” He continued, “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.” A spokesperson for Ford didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night. But Ford previously got Trump's attention with an electricity surcharge to US states. Trump responded by doubling steel and aluminum tariffs.

The president has moved to impose steep US tariffs on many goods from Canada. In April, Canada's government imposed retaliatory levies on certain US goods -- but it carved out exemptions for some automakers to bring specific numbers of vehicles into the country, known as remission quotas.

Trump's tariffs have especially hurt Canada's auto sector, much of which is based in Ontario. This month, Stellantis said it would move a production line from Ontario to Illinois.