Canadian PM Apologizes To Trump Over ‘Tariff’ Ad That Derailed Talks
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has issued a private apology to President Donald J. Trump after his government promoted a political advertisement that misused comments from President Ronald Reagan to criticize Trump’s tariff policies.
The advertisement, commissioned by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, aired heavily across major U.S. networks and selectively featured audio from Reagan’s 1987 remarks on trade barriers. Ford’s team attempted to frame the clip as evidence that Reagan opposed tariffs like the ones President Trump has used to protect American workers and secure fairer trade deals.
But critics — including the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation — said the ad relied on selectively edited quotes that stripped Reagan’s comments of context, obscuring the fact that Reagan supported tariffs when they served U.S. national interests, including protecting domestic manufacturing.
Following the ad's release on October 14, 2025, the White House paused ongoing trade discussions with Canada and imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on select Canadian imports. Ford defended the campaign as “accurate” and “effective,” calling it one of the most successful political messages of his career. But the backlash quickly escalated into a diplomatic embarrassment.
Carney later acknowledged he had personally reviewed the ad script but said his reservations were overruled. At a dinner during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea on October 22, Carney privately apologized to President Trump to mitigate further damage to U.S.–Canada relations.
“He was very nice. He apologized for what they did with the commercial because it was a false commercial. You know, it was the exact opposite, Ronald Reagan loved tariffs,” President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Mar-a-Lago. When asked if trade talks would resume, Trump replied simply: “No, but I have a very good relationship. I like him a lot.”
The Reagan Foundation also weighed in, cautioning that the commercial risked misrepresenting Reagan’s legacy. Reagan’s full remarks emphasized that while excessive protectionism could harm global markets, strategic tariffs were sometimes necessary to defend national economic interests.
President Trump has used tariffs as leverage, pushing foreign governments to lower their own barriers on American goods — a strategy that resulted in several trade concessions over the summer. While Trump has maintained a 10% baseline tariff, Canada remains largely shielded under the USMCA deal negotiated during his first term. Most key Canadian exports — including automobiles — are exempt from Trump’s broader 25% tariff on foreign-made cars.
Carney’s apology underscores a simple geopolitical reality: President Trump’s trade posture continues to reshape global economic policy, and attempts to weaponize Reagan’s legacy against him have consistently backfired.