Trade tensions between the United States and Canada reached a dramatic new peak on October 24, 2025, when President Donald Trump abruptly announced the termination of all trade negotiations with America’s northern neighbor. The move, broadcasted on Trump’s social media platform, was a direct response to a high-profile television advertisement aired in Ontario that featured former U.S. President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs—a core element of Trump’s economic policy.
The advert, which ran as part of a C$75 million campaign funded by Ontario’s provincial government, used audio from Reagan’s 1987 national radio address. In the ad, Reagan’s voice intones, “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. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars... Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs.” According to BBC, the video juxtaposed Reagan’s words with images of the New York Stock Exchange and cranes bearing both U.S. and Canadian flags, aiming to highlight the potential fallout from protectionist policies.
Trump, never one to shy away from controversy, lashed out at the ad. On Truth Social, he wrote, “They only did this to interfere with the decision of the US 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.” The president’s message left little doubt about his anger and the seriousness of the consequences for cross-border relations.
The timing of the announcement startled observers on both sides of the border. Only hours earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had publicly challenged Trump to a friendly wager on the outcome of the baseball World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers—a gesture that, in hindsight, seems almost quaint given the diplomatic storm that followed.
The Reagan ad quickly became the focal point of an international spat. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation issued a statement accusing Ontario’s government of “using selective audio and video” without permission and warned it was “reviewing its legal options.” The foundation asserted that the advert “misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address (by Reagan in 1987), and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks.” As reported by CNBC, the Foundation encouraged the public to listen to the unedited address, which it made available on its YouTube channel.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a vocal critic of Trump’s tariffs, was unapologetic about the campaign. According to The Globe and Mail, Ford said earlier in the week, “I heard that the president heard our ad. I’m sure he wasn’t too happy.” He also posted the ad on X (formerly Twitter) on October 16, 2025, and declared, “We’ll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada.” Ford has previously threatened to cut off power supply to the U.S. in retaliation for what he described as Washington’s harsh economic policies, saying the U.S. had “pulled a knife and yanked it into us.”
Trump’s tariffs, which have been a signature of his second term, include a sweeping 35% levy on many Canadian imports and even higher, sector-specific duties: 50% on metals and 25% on automobiles. These tariffs have hit Ontario—the largest and most industrialized Canadian province—particularly hard. The White House has allowed some exemptions for goods covered under the 2020 USMCA free trade agreement, but the broader impact has been severe. According to BBC, more than 75% of Canadian exports go to the U.S., with C$3.6 billion worth of goods crossing the border daily. The pressure on Canadian businesses, especially in manufacturing and steel, has been intense.
The context for this latest rupture is a months-long series of negotiations between the two governments. Since his election earlier in 2025, Prime Minister Carney has sought to broker a deal with the U.S. to ease the burden of tariffs. Talks had focused particularly on the steel and aluminum sectors, which have been battered by increased U.S. duties. Just weeks earlier, Carney and Trump had met in an effort to find common ground, but the relationship remained fraught, complicated further by the intervention of Ontario’s provincial leadership.
Adding another layer to the drama, Trump accused the Canadian government of attempting to sway the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision on the legality of his tariffs—a ruling expected in November 2025 that could force the U.S. to refund billions in collected duties. “They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts,” Trump wrote, casting the advert as a cynical ploy to undermine his administration’s signature economic policy.
This is not the first time Trump has abruptly ended trade talks with Canada. In June 2025, he announced a similar termination after Ottawa introduced a digital services tax targeting American tech giants. Canada quickly rescinded the tax, a move the White House characterized as Carney having “caved” to U.S. pressure. This pattern of brinkmanship has become a hallmark of Trump’s approach to trade policy, both with Canada and globally.
The reaction in Canada has been a mixture of defiance and concern. While Carney and Ford have not yet commented publicly on the most recent escalation, Carney told reporters earlier in the week that Canada would “not allow unfair US access to its markets if talks on various trade deals with Washington fail.” The U.S., Canada, and Mexico are due to review their continental free-trade agreement in 2026, and the outcome of the current dispute could have significant implications for the future of North American trade.
Meanwhile, the controversy over the Reagan ad has raised questions about the ethics and legality of using a former president’s words and likeness in political messaging. The Reagan Foundation’s warning of legal action underscores the sensitivity of presidential legacies in the modern media landscape, especially when invoked in contentious cross-border disputes.
For now, the economic stakes remain high. With the U.S. as Canada’s largest trading partner and both economies deeply intertwined, a prolonged freeze on trade negotiations could have ripple effects far beyond the steel mills and auto plants of Ontario. Businesses on both sides of the border are left wondering what comes next, as political leaders dig in for what looks like a long—and potentially bitter—stand-off.
As the dust settles, one thing is clear: the relationship between these two neighbors, long defined by cooperation and mutual benefit, is now being tested by political brinkmanship, economic nationalism, and the enduring power of a president’s words—whether spoken in 1987 or echoed in a 2025 television ad.
