President Donald Trump just dropped a bombshell by scrapping vital trade negotiations with Canada over a commercial that got under his skin.
The Daily Mail reported that Trump terminated talks and slapped a 10% additional tariff on Canadian goods last week after a provocative ad, featuring former President Ronald Reagan, critiquing tariffs, aired during the World Series, prompting sharp rebukes from figures like Mark Carney and Gavin Newsom, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford opted to pull the ad to cool tensions.
Last week, tensions flared when an advertisement, part of a hefty $53.5 million campaign by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, aired during the first two games of the World Series featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.
The ad, broadcast across major networks like Fox News, ESPN, and ABC, reached millions of Americans with a snippet from a 1987 Reagan speech warning against the dangers of tariffs.
Trump didn’t take kindly to this, venting his frustration on Truth Social on Thursday by accusing Canada of misrepresenting Reagan’s words in a “fraudulent” manner.
He went as far as suggesting the ad was a deliberate attempt by Ontario to sway a looming U.S. Supreme Court decision on his administration’s tariff powers. That’s a bold claim, and while the intent is debatable, the timing certainly raises eyebrows.
By Saturday, Trump doubled down, confirming a 10% tariff hike on Canadian goods via another Truth Social post, labeling the ad a “hostile act.” The move has serious implications, considering over three-quarters of Canada’s exports head to the U.S., with daily cross-border trade valued at roughly $3.6 billion CAD.
Canada’s economy is already under strain from existing tariffs—35% on many products, 50% on steel and aluminum, and 10% on energy—though most goods remain exempt under the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement.
This latest hike could tighten the screws further on our northern neighbors. One has to wonder if this is the best way to handle a trade spat, or if it’s just adding fuel to an already blazing fire.
Mark Carney, speaking at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia on Monday, urged a level-headed approach to the escalating feud. “It doesn't pay to be upset. Emotions don't carry you very far,” Carney remarked, emphasizing the importance of keeping cool in high-stakes negotiations.
Carney’s advice is sound, but it’s hard to ignore that Trump’s reaction seems driven by a raw nerve being struck. While emotions shouldn’t dictate policy, it’s understandable why a leader might bristle at seeing a revered figure like Reagan used in a way that undermines current strategy. Still, cooler heads must prevail if trade harmony is the goal.
Trump, for his part, made it clear he’s not ready to sit down with Carney anytime soon, stating on Monday, “I don't want to meet with him." He added that he’s content with the existing trade arrangement with Canada and plans to let things stand as they are. That’s a firm line in the sand, but it risks stalling progress on a critical economic front.
In a bid to de-escalate, Doug Ford announced he’d pull the ad after the weekend, describing it as “not nasty” and “very factual” in its critique of tariffs’ impact on Americans.
Ford’s intent might have been to educate, but using Reagan’s words without permission from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute has stirred its own controversy.
The Foundation itself chimed in, asserting the ad took Reagan’s remarks out of context and was used without approval, even hinting at potential legal action. That’s a fair grievance—historical figures shouldn’t be pawns in modern policy debates without proper consent.
Critics across the border, like California Governor Gavin Newsom, haven’t held back either, with Newsom taking to X to blast Trump’s response as petty and costly to Americans.
While Newsom’s progressive stance often clashes with conservative priorities, his point about higher costs hitting U.S. consumers isn’t baseless. Tariffs, after all, are a double-edged sword.
The economic stakes here are enormous, and Canada’s reliance on U.S. markets means they’re feeling the pinch more acutely. With billions in daily trade at risk, this isn’t just a political spat—it’s a potential gut punch to livelihoods on both sides of the border.
