In a fresh escalation of trade tensions, U.S. President Donald Trump has slapped an additional 10-per-cent tariff on Canadian goods, citing a controversial Ontario government ad campaign as the trigger.
Announcing the move on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said the new tariff would be “over and above what they are paying now,” claiming it was imposed because the ad was not withdrawn quickly enough.
The $75-million ad campaign — launched by Premier Doug Ford’s government — featured former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and was broadcast across U.S. networks as part of Ontario’s anti-tariff messaging. It was initially planned to run until the end of January.
Tensions flared late Thursday when Trump abruptly announced he was halting trade talks with Canada over the ad. In response, Ford said Friday that Ontario would pull the campaign in hopes of restarting negotiations — but only by Monday.
The delay appears to have angered Trump further, prompting what many see as a retaliatory measure that could once again strain Canada-U.S. trade relations.