US President Donald Trump announced late on Thursday that he is terminating all trade negotiations with Canada, citing an anti-tariff advertisement produced by Ontario’s provincial government that used audio from former President Ronald Reagan.
The ad, part of a $75 million campaign by Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s administration, features a 1987 radio address in which Reagan warned about the dangers of tariffs and trade wars.
Trump called the spot “FAKE” and “fraudulent,” accusing Canada, though the ad was produced by the province of Ontario, of interfering in US judicial decisions and misrepresenting Reagan’s legacy.
“TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A.,” Trump wrote in a late-night post on his Truth Social platform. “Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”
In a follow-up post on Friday morning, Trump alleged that “CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!”
He claimed the ad distorted Reagan’s views, writing, “They fraudulently took a big buy ad saying that Ronald Reagan did not like Tariffs, when actually he LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY.”
The decision brings to a halt months of trade discussions between Washington and Ottawa, which had been focused on steel, aluminum, and energy.
Just two weeks earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had met with Trump at the White House, after which Trump directed senior officials to pursue a new deal.
The Canadian government was informed of Trump’s decision shortly before his social media posts, a senior federal source told Radio-Canada. The Prime Minister’s Office has not yet commented publicly.
The advertisement that triggered Trump’s response uses a minute-long excerpt from Reagan’s April 1987 radio address.
“When someone says let's impose tariffs on foreign imports, it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs,” Reagan says in the recording.
“High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars… businesses and industry shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs.”
It’s official: Ontario’s new advertising campaign in the U.S. 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.
Watch our new ad. pic.twitter.com/SgIVC1cqMJ
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) October 16, 2025
A few hours before Trump’s termination announcement, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute publicly condemned the Ontario government’s use of Reagan’s remarks.
“The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks,” the institute said in a statement. It added that it “is reviewing its legal options in this matter.”
Ontario’s government has defended the campaign. “The commercial uses an unedited excerpt from one of President Reagan’s public addresses, which is available through public domain,” a spokesperson for Premier Ford said in an email to CBC News.