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US President Donald Trump says he is immediately ending all trade talks with Canada, accusing it of misquoting former president Ronald Reagan in an advertising campaign against tariffs.
“Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump said on his Truth Social network on Friday (AEDT).
“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 latest extraordinary twist in relations between the North American neighbours comes just over two weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Trump in the White House to seek a relaxation of stiff US tariffs.
Ontario premier Doug Ford said earlier this week the ad from his province with anti-tariff messaging had caught Trump’s attention. The ad showed Reagan, a Republican, criticising tariffs on foreign goods while saying they caused job losses and trade wars.
“I heard that the president heard our ad. I’m sure he wasn’t too happy,” Ford said on Tuesday.
The Ronald Reagan Foundation said on X that the government of the Canadian province of Ontario had used “selectively audio and video” from a radio address to the nation in April 1987.
The organization claimed the advertisement “distorts” the comments made by the former Republican actor during his speech, and noted that it is “considering its legal avenues” regarding the issue.
Trump said the ad was designed to “interfere with the decision of the US Supreme Court”, which is due to rule on his sweeping global tariffs.
The sudden decision to end trade talks will come as a blow to Carney, whom Trump described as a “world-class leader” when they met on 7 October, adding that the Canadian would be “very happy” with their discussion.
At the time, however, Trump offered no immediate concessions on tariffs.
Roughly 85 per cent of cross-border trade in both directions remains tariff-free as the United States and Canada continue to adhere to an existing North American trade deal called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
