WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump reignited tensions with Canada on Friday, accusing the country of “playing dirty” in a dispute over an Ontario government anti-tariff advertisement — even after the province announced it would withdraw the ad in an effort to restart trade talks.
The controversy erupted earlier this week when Trump claimed that the ad — which used a 1987 Ronald Reagan speech warning about the dangers of high tariffs — misrepresented the late president’s views. The backlash led Trump to abruptly terminate trade negotiations with Canada, derailing months of diplomatic progress.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirmed Friday that he would pause the U.S. ad campaign effective Monday, following discussions with Prime Minister Mark Carney. “Ontario will pause its U.S. advertising campaign so that trade talks can resume,” Ford wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
But Trump, speaking to reporters before leaving for an Asian tour, dismissed the gesture as too little, too late. “Canada got caught cheating on a commercial, can you believe it?” he said. “They could have pulled it tonight. That’s dirty play — but I can play dirtier than they can.”
The ad controversy comes amid heightened political theatre, coinciding with the World Series matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, which Trump referenced pointedly as the Jays crushed the Dodgers 11–4 in Game 1. “I heard they were putting it on a little bit more,” Trump quipped.
The Reagan Foundation weighed in on Thursday, accusing Ontario of using “selective audio and video” from Reagan’s 1987 radio address and said it was reviewing its legal options. The disputed clip quoted Reagan warning that “high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars” — a line that matches the official transcript from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Trump, however, doubled down, insisting Reagan “loved tariffs” and called the ad “crooked.”
The escalating spat marks another setback in U.S.–Canada relations, just two weeks after Carney met Trump at the White House to seek relief from the administration’s sweeping tariffs on steel, aluminum, and autos — which have hit Canadian industries hard.
Both leaders are scheduled to attend a dinner at next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, but Trump told reporters he has no plans to meet Carney.
In an attempt to de-escalate the situation, Carney said Canada remains “ready to resume progress when the Americans are ready,” emphasizing that his government must “focus on what we can control.”
Trump’s “sectoral tariffs”, now at their highest levels since the Great Depression, have become a cornerstone of his economic nationalism. Carney, meanwhile, has acknowledged the need for a “dramatic change” in Canada’s trade strategy, even as the USMCA pact keeps 85% of cross-border trade tariff-free.
For now, the Reagan ad dispute underscores the fragile state of U.S.–Canada relations — and how quickly old allies can find themselves trading punches over both policy and perception.