Ontario Launched "Anti-Tariff" TV Ads on the 16th
U.S. Announces "Immediate Termination of Trade Talks" After Ad Airs
The province of Ontario, Canada, has decided to suspend its “anti-tariff” TV advertisements, which had sparked a halt in trade negotiations between the United States and Canada.
Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, announced on October 24 (local time) via the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that “in order to allow trade negotiations with the United States to resume, we will temporarily suspend the U.S.-related advertising campaign starting on the 27th.” Premier Ford explained that this decision was made following discussions with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada.
Ontario had released the controversial advertisement on the 16th. The ad argued that tariffs would have a negative long-term impact on the lives of Americans. It stated that while imposing tariffs on foreign products might appear to be a patriotic move to protect American goods and jobs-and may have a short-term effect-in the long run, it would harm the market, cause companies to collapse, and result in millions of job losses.
Furthermore, the final part of the advertisement featured former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, making it appear as if he had made such remarks. The voice of former President Reagan used in the ad was taken from a speech he delivered on April 25, 1987, in which he expressed his belief in supporting free trade.
The previous day, President Trump cited this advertisement as the reason for immediately terminating all trade negotiations with Canada. He stated, “The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada deceptively used an advertisement showing former President Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs-a false advertisement,” and claimed that Canada released such an ad to interfere with and influence decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation also pointed out that the ad distorted the former president’s radio address and that his remarks were used and modified without authorization. The foundation added that it is considering legal action against Canada.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Carney urged the United States to return to the negotiating table. Speaking to reporters before departing on an Asian tour, he said, “My colleagues have continued specific and constructive negotiations with their American counterparts,” and emphasized, “We are ready to resume negotiations with the United States.”
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