Donald Trump declared a complete halt to all trade talks with Canada following the release of a provocative advertisement featuring Ronald Reagan. The ad, aimed at critiquing Trump’s tariff policies, was aired by Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, under the leadership of Premier Doug Ford, a conservative who has previously criticized Trump.

The commercial is part of a substantial $53.5 million initiative by Ontario to counter the tariff strategy, and it has sparked a strong reaction from Trump. He took to Truth Social on Thursday evening to voice his disapproval of the campaign.

In his post, Trump accused the Ronald Reagan Foundation of allowing Canada to deceitfully use a misleading advertisement. The ad reportedly portrayed Reagan as speaking unfavorably about tariffs, which Trump deemed fabricated.

“They orchestrated this to meddle with the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and other judicial bodies,” Trump asserted. He emphasized, “TARIFFS ARE CRUCIAL FOR THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF THE U.S.A. Consequently, all trade negotiations with Canada are officially terminated. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT.”

The controversial 60-second commercial includes a segment from a 1987 radio address in which Reagan humorously justified imposing tariffs on Japanese electronics.

The 60-second ad pulls from a 1987 radio address made by Reagan as he ironically explained why he was placing tariffs on Japanese electronics. 

‘But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American, worker and consumer,’ Reagan said. 

‘High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs.’ 

Donald Trump announced that all trade negotiations with Canada have been ‘terminated’ over a local commercial that used Ronald Reagan to attack the president over his tariffs

The one-minute ad excerpts a 1987 radio address by Reagan to justify imposing 100 percent tariffs on Japanese electronics over a trade dispute over semiconductors 

The one-minute ad excerpts a 1987 radio address by Reagan to justify imposing 100 percent tariffs on Japanese electronics over a trade dispute over semiconductors. 

However, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute has said the late president is being taken out of context. 

‘The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks,’ they tweeted Thursday.

The institute adds that it is ‘reviewing its legal options in this matter’ before linking people to the full address Reagan gave. 

Ford said that the ad buy was meant to tell Americans the negative effects tariffs would have against them.

‘We’re going to repeat that message to every Republican district there is right across the entire country,’ he said last week, according to Politico. 

Ford has now created a mess for Prime Minister Mark Carney, who leads Canada’s left-leaning Liberal Party, Ford’s Conservatives’ biggest competition.

Carney had largely been developing a positive relationship with Trump after the president had threatened to annex Canada under his predecessor, Justin Trudeau.

The spot was part of a $75million CAN campaign to push back against the strategy by the province of Ontario – Canada’s largest province – which is run by Premier Doug Ford (pictured center), a conservative who has slammed Trump in the past

Ford has now created a mess for Prime Minister Mark Carney (pictured), who leads Canada’s left-leaning Liberal Party, Ford’s Conservatives’ biggest competition

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox Business last week that the Carney administration was ‘much more centrist, much more interested in exploiting their energy resources’ than Trudeau.  

‘We’re developing a great relationship with them, if that means that we have tariffs and we’ll have tariffs but I think there are ways to cooperate with Canadians on things that are of mutual interest to us both.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to Greer, Carney and Ford for comment. 

Ford was one of the most vocal opponents of Trump’s trade war in any country, despite not being the country’s chief executive.

He threatened to put 25 percent tariffs on the US in response to Trump’s own program before eventually folding.

Ford also canceled a deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink over the president’s strategy, as Musk was still running the Department of Government Efficiency. 

It is a far different strategy taken by his nation’s leader.

Carney has been accused of sucking up to Trump after praising the ‘transformative president’ at the White House in October.

Carney has been accused of sucking up to Trump after praising the ‘transformative president’ at the White House in October 

The prime minister met Trump seeking to ease US tariffs that are hitting Canada’s economy – and his popularity at home.

The 60-year-old former Bank of England governor joked: ‘I wore red for you’, pointing to his tie as Trump greeted him outside the west wing. Trump often wears a red tie, although on this occasion he was wearing a blue one.

Inside the Oval Office, Carney turned up his charm offensive by listing off a number of the President’s achievements.

‘You are a transformative president,’ Carney said. ‘Transformation in the economy, unprecedented commitments of Nato partners to defense spending, peace from India-Pakistan through to Azerbaijan-Armenia, disabling Iran as a force of terror, and now…’

Trump cut him off: ‘The merger of Canada and the United States’.

The joke sparked raucous laughter — and significant reaction online — as the President slapped the Canadian PM on the back.

Trump appeared to offer Carney a vague reassurance when asked about the state of relations in October. 

He told reporters: ‘It’s a natural business conflict. Nothing wrong with it. And I think we’ve come a long way over the last few months, actually, in terms of that relationship.’

Ford was one of the most vocal opponents of Trump’s trade war in any country, despite not being the country’s chief executive 

Trump has already imposed tariffs on lumber, aluminum, steel and automobiles. On Monday, he announced 25 percent tariffs on heavy trucks starting November 1. 

For now, the vast majority of trade remains protected by the USMCA, a free-trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

But the agreement faces renegotiation soon, and Trump has already called for a revision that would favor US industries.

Carney entered politics less than a year ago but now faces growing criticism domestically, where he campaigned on his extensive crisis management experience. 

A day earlier, when asked about Carney’s visit, Trump said: ‘I guess he’s going to ask about tariffs, because a lot of companies from Canada are moving into the United States.’ 

The President has also recently repeated his desire to make Canada ‘the 51st state’, an issue that caused tensions before Carney’s previous trip.

The Canadian government said that during the prime minister’s ‘working visit’ he seeks to restore bilateral relations and discuss ‘shared priorities in a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the US.’ 

The United States is Canada’s main economic partner, with 75 percent of Canada’s exports being sold across its southern border. Canada saw its GDP decline by 1.5 percent in the second quarter, adding to the economic pressure.

The Canadian leader has been under major pressure at home to seal a deal.

‘Mark Carney has no choice, he must return from Washington with progress,’ said Daniel Beland, a political scientist at McGill University in Montreal, pointing to the steel and aluminum tariffs as key areas.

Carney faces particular criticism for making concessions while getting little in return.

At the end of June, Carney canceled a tax targeting American tech giants under pressure from Trump, who called it outrageous. He also lifted many of the tariffs imposed by the previous government.

‘If you return with excuses, broken promises and photo ops, you will have failed our workers, our businesses and our country,’ conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre wrote in an open letter to Carney.

Trump once again brought up the possibility of annexing Canada during a speech to US generals and admirals a week before Carney visited, referencing the country’s potential participation in a new ‘Golden Dome’ missile shield.

‘Canada called me a couple of weeks ago, they want to be part of it,’ Trump claimed. ‘To which I said, well, why don’t you just join our country’ and ‘become the 51st state, and you get it for free.’

Carney now faces his first massive crisis since taking over for longtime Trump whipping boy Trudeau in January.  

This is a developing story.