Mark Carney issued a stinging rebuke to Donald Trump following the sudden halt of trade discussions, which was triggered by a controversial advertisement. The ad, featuring former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs, aired during the World Series games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, prompting Trump to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Canada and halt key trade negotiations. The commercial leveraged a 1987 Reagan speech to highlight the drawbacks of U.S. tariffs, sparking tension during Friday and Saturday’s matches.

Addressing the situation at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, Carney remarked, “Emotions don’t serve you well. In negotiations fraught with complexity and stakes, unexpected challenges can arise, and maintaining composure is essential.” Carney mentioned that he had not communicated with Trump since the incident, implying that the responsibility to mend relations lies with the President. The contentious 60-second commercial, part of a $53.5 million campaign by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, featured Reagan discussing the misleading benefits of tariffs in a radio address about Japanese electronics.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute criticized the ad, claiming it misrepresented Reagan’s views. In response, Ford agreed to withdraw the ad after the weekend to alleviate tensions. Nevertheless, on Monday, Trump expressed continued discontent and dismissed the idea of meeting Carney soon, stating, “I’m content with the current deal with Canada and prefer to keep it as it is.” Trump’s stance indicates a reluctance to engage in immediate discussions with Canadian officials.

Trump reacted furiously to the ad in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, initially signaling that trade negotiations would be halted. ‘The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs,’ he wrote. ‘They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts. TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.’ By Saturday, Trump said he would raise tariffs by 10 percent after the ad was seen by millions of Americans on channels such as Fox News, Fox Sports, NBC, CBS, CNBC, ESPN, ABC and local affiliates.

‘Canada was caught, red handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s Speech on Tariffs,’ Trump wrote Saturday afternoon on Truth Social. ‘Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.’ Trump also reiterated his theory that the Ontario government, led by Ford, ran the ad to illegally sway the opinions of the Supreme Court, which will decide next month if the Trump administration has the legal authority to implement sweeping global tariffs without the input of Congress. In the ad, Reagan says: ‘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. ‘And sometimes for a short while it works, but only for a short time. But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American, worker and consumer.’

Reagan then explains: ‘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.’ In response to the ad, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute said: ‘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 adds that it is ‘reviewing its legal options in this matter’ before linking people to the full address Reagan gave. Ford hoped to broadcast the ad on major television networks so that Americans could see negative effects tariffs would have against them. He claimed that the ad is ‘not nasty’ and ‘very factual,’ calling Reagan ‘the best president [America] has ever seen, in my opinion.’

Ford has now created a mess for Carney, who leads Canada’s left-leaning Liberal Party, Ford’s Conservatives’ biggest competition. Canada’s economy has been hit hard by Trump’s tariffs, and Carney has been trying to work with Trump to lower them. More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the US and nearly $3.6 billion Canadian ($2.7 billion US) worth of goods and services cross the border daily. Many Canadian products have been hit with a 35 percent tariff, while steel and aluminum face rates of 50 percent. Energy products have a lower rate of 10 percent, while the vast majority of goods are covered by the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement, and are exempt from tariffs. Trump’s decision to suspend negotiations and increase tariffs sparked criticism from his opponents, including California Governor Gavin Newsom. ‘The man child in the Oval got his feelings hurt, so he is punishing the American people with higher costs,’ Newsom wrote on X alongside a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post.