Trump cancels trade talks with Canada over anti-tariff ad

US President Donald Trump has announced that he is immediately ending all trade negotiations with Canada.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that the country ran an ad in which former US President Ronald Reagan spoke negatively about the tariffs.

“Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE TERMINATED,” Trump tweeted late Thursday.

The US president imposed a 35% tax on Canadian imports, although he allowed exemptions for goods that fall under the USMCA, a free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that Trump negotiated during his first term.

Trump said the Ontario government-sponsored video was designed to “obstruct” the U.S. Supreme Court, referring to an upcoming November ruling on whether Washington’s massive global tariffs are legal.

The court’s decision represents the biggest test of presidential authority and Trump’s signature economic policies, potentially forcing the US to repay billions collected in tariffs.

In the one-minute ad, released last week, Reagan’s voice is heard narrating over images that include the New York Stock Exchange and cranes decorated with US and Canadian flags.

Excerpts from the video a Address on national radio in 1987 by Reagan, which focused on foreign trade.

“When someone says ‘let’s put tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs.” And sometimes for a short time it works, but only for a short time,” says Reagan.

“But in the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American, worker and consumer.

“High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of bitter trade wars… Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries close, and millions of people lose their jobs,” Reagan added.

In a post on X, the Ronald Reagan Foundation said the Ontario government used “selective audio and video” of the former US president’s remarks about the tariffs.

“The Government of Ontario neither sought nor obtained permission to use and edit the remarks,” the statement added.

The foundation said the ad “misrepresents” the former president’s address, without specifying why.

It said the foundation was “reviewing its legal options.”

In the post accompanying the video ad, Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote that “we will never stop defending American tariffs on Canada.”

Ford, who presided over Canada’s most populous province and its largest economy, was a sharp critic of American customs.

Ontario is among the Canadian provinces hardest hit by the US tariffs, particularly in the auto and steel industries.

Ford hit back at Trump’s earlier tirade against Canada by saying he was ready disconnect the power supply to the USA.

He had also described Washington’s trade policy against Canada as pulling a knife and “pulled it into us“, and called on US lawmakers to put pressure on Trump.

Mark Carney and Doug Ford have yet to comment on Trump’s announcement.

The ad was released as part of a C$75 million (£40 million; $54 million) campaign across major US television channels.

Trump also imposed sector-specific tariffs on Canadian goods, including 50% on metals and 25% on autos.

The White House’s global tariffs – particularly on steel, aluminum and autos – have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and putting pressure on businesses.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington also used a similar clip of Reagan in a post by X to question Trump’s global tariffs earlier this year.