Ford says Ontario will halt anti-tariff ad in U.S. to restart trade talks

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he’ll pull the plug on his anti-tariff television ad campaign in the United States on Monday so that trade talks between Canada and the U.S. can resume.

In a statement to CHCH News, Ford says he made the decision after speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford writes in the statement.

“We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels. I’ve directed my team to keep putting our message in front of Americans over the weekend so that we can air our commercial during the first two World Series games.”

U.S. President Donald Trump terminated trade negotiations with Canada because of the ads, which feature footage of former president Ronald Reagan warning about the economically devastating effects of tariffs.

“Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Thursday.

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The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute say the ads misrepresent the president’s address and the Ontario government did not seek or receive permission to “use and edit the remarks.”

Carney left Friday for Asia, where he is expected to encounter Trump at back-to-back international summits. Before his flight, Carney said that while Canada can’t control U.S. trade policy, it can work to build up the domestic economy.

“Our officials, my colleagues, have been working with their American colleagues on detailed, constructive negotiations, discussions on specific transactions, specific sectors — steel, aluminum and energy — and a lot of progress has been made,” he said.

“We stand ready to pick up on that progress and build on that progress, when the Americans are ready to have those discussions.”

This is a developing news story. More to come.

With files from The Canadian Press.

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