In a dramatic move, Donald Trump announced the cessation of all trade negotiations with Canada, condemning an anti-tariff advertisement as “FAKE.” The ad, part of a $53.5 million initiative led by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, aimed to highlight the adverse impact of tariffs on American lives. On Thursday night, Trump denounced the campaign, stating, “The Ronald Reagan Foundation has declared that Canada fraudulently used a FAKE ad with Reagan speaking against tariffs,” he posted on Truth Social. “This was done to sway the U.S. Supreme Court and other judicial bodies. TARIFFS ARE CRUCIAL FOR U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY AND ECONOMY. Due to such egregious actions, ALL TRADE TALKS WITH CANADA ARE TERMINATED.”

The contentious 60-second commercial draws from a 1987 radio address by Reagan about tariffs on Japanese electronics. Ford, in launching the campaign, declared, “Let’s amplify Reagan’s words across the American landscape.” The ad, targeting Republican districts nationwide, portrays how tariffs could devastate American families, farmers, and businesses. Reagan, featured in the ad, describes the initial allure of tariffs as deceptive, explaining, “Imposing tariffs seems patriotic, protecting American goods and jobs. It might work briefly, but over time, these barriers harm every American worker and consumer.”

Reagan further elaborates, “High tariffs inevitably provoke retaliatory measures and incite fierce trade wars, leading to shrunken markets and economic collapse, with industries shutting down and job losses soaring.” However, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute claims the ad misrepresents Reagan’s original address. “The Government of Ontario neither sought nor received permission to use and alter these remarks,” they tweeted, adding that they are exploring legal options and directing the public to the full address. Ford intended for the ad to air on major U.S. networks to enlighten Americans about the potential negative consequences of tariffs.

‘And our first launch is going to be on every major network – maybe one may not get it – and we’ll talk about that at a later date,’ he said, joking that CNN was ‘a little nervous’ about airing it. 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 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.

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. 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.’ 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 March. Trudeau’s long-simmering feud with Trump drove the prime minister to tears at one point late in his premiership. Since Trump was reelected president in November, he has started referring to Trudeau as a ‘governor’ of Canada that could soon become the ’51st state’ of the United States of America. Trudeau was deeply disturbed by the news of Trump’s intent to level a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods imported into the United States , describing the decision as ‘dumb.’ He said before leaving office that Canada would begin implementing 25 percent tariffs on $155 billion of American goods, starting with $30 billion worth of products immediately. ‘This is a time to hit back hard and to demonstrate that a fight with Canada will have no winners,’ he said. The United States imported $412 billion worth of goods from Canada in 2024, according to the US Census Bureau. Trump has argued that the trade deficit with Canada demonstrates that the United States deserves to level more tariffs on their imported goods.

The president warned Trudeau in March that the United States was willing to level additional tariffs on their country’s economy. ‘Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada , that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!’ Trump warned on social media. ‘We subsidize them $200 billion a year. Without us, Canada can’t make it,’ Trump said during a cabinet meeting last week. ‘You know, Canada relies on us 95 percent. We rely on them 4 percent. Big difference.’ Trump has also suggested that Canada should join the United States if they want to escape the tariffs. ‘I say Canada should be our 51st state. There’s no tariffs, no nothing,’ he said last week. Trump also argues that since the United States pays largely for Canada’s military security , the country should also pay more in tariffs. ‘We protect Canada. But it’s not fair. It’s not fair that they’re not paying their way. And if they had to pay their way, they couldn’t exist,’ he said. Canadians continue exploring ways to make the United States suffer as a result of the tariffs.