Washington, D.C. / Ottawa — U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday that Prime Minister Mark Carney has apologized for a controversial Ontario government advertisement that reignited trade tensions between the two countries earlier this month.
“He was very nice. He apologized for what they did with the commercial,” Trump said when asked about his relationship with the Canadian leader.
However, the president made it clear that despite the exchange, he is not planning to resume trade negotiations with Canada at this time.
“No, but I have a very good relationship. I like him a lot,” Trump added. “But you know, what they did was wrong.”
The remarks come after the $75-million ad campaign, commissioned by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, aired across several U.S. networks earlier in October — including during the first two games of the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Controversial Advertisement
The advertisement featured archival audio of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, taken from a 1987 radio address, in which Reagan warned that tariffs “hurt every American.”
Ontario Premier Ford announced the campaign on October 14, saying the province would launch a major media push in U.S. markets to highlight the negative economic impact of tariffs.
“We’re going to launch a $75-million ad and we’re going to repeat that message at every Republican district there is,” Ford said at the time.
Ten days later, on October 24, President Trump reacted sharply, accusing Canada of “fraudulently misrepresenting” Reagan’s remarks and immediately terminating trade negotiations with Ottawa.
Trump then imposed an additional 10 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, saying the ad represented a “hostile act.”
“Canada was caught, red handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s speech on tariffs,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.”
Diplomatic Repercussions and Fallout
The Carney government has not publicly commented on Trump’s claims of an apology, but sources close to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed earlier this week that Canadian officials had reached out privately to U.S. counterparts in an attempt to ease tensions.
The fallout marks the latest flashpoint in an increasingly strained Canada-U.S. trade relationship, which has been marred by tariff battles over steel, aluminum, buses, and electric vehicles in recent months.
Premier Doug Ford’s government has defended the ad as an “awareness campaign,” claiming it was aimed at informing American voters about the mutual economic harms caused by protectionist policies — not to provoke Washington.
“We respect our friends in the United States, but we will always stand up for Ontario workers and Canadian jobs,” Ford said in a statement earlier this week.
The Carney government, meanwhile, has been working to maintain diplomatic stability while pursuing new trade diversification efforts with Europe and Asia amid growing tensions with the Trump administration.
Trade analysts say the exchange underscores how domestic political messaging in Canada can have international trade repercussions, particularly in the current volatile U.S. political climate.