Trump Says Canadian PM Mark Carney Apologized Over Reagan Tariff Ad as Trade Tensions Rise
President Donald Trump said Friday that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a personal apology for a controversial television ad aired in Ontario that featured Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs — an ad that prompted Trump to suspend trade talks with Canada earlier this month.
“He was very nice. He apologized for what they did with the commercial because it was a false commercial,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Mar-a-Lago. “You know, it was the exact opposite — Ronald Reagan loved tariffs.”
Asked if trade negotiations with Carney’s government would resume, Trump replied bluntly: “No, but I have a very good relationship. I like him a lot.”
The ad in question was produced not by the federal government under Carney’s Liberal leadership, but by Ontario’s Conservative-led provincial administration. The ad featured a clip from a 1987 Reagan radio address warning of the dangers of tariffs and protectionist trade policies, arguing they “inevitably lead to retaliation,” shrink markets, and cost millions of jobs.
Trump, however, has repeatedly championed tariffs as a tool to restore fairness and leverage in global trade. Since returning to office, he has used a 10% baseline tariff rate — triple the previous standard — and imposed even higher rates on countries that fail to meet U.S. expectations.
“Ronald Reagan understood strength,” Trump said. “And when it came to trade, he knew how to get results. This ad tried to twist history and I wasn’t going to let that stand.”
Trump and Carney met Wednesday at a dinner during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in South Korea. While the two reportedly had a cordial exchange, it came just days after Trump froze trade discussions in response to the ad.
Canada is a signatory to the USMCA trade pact that Trump negotiated during his first term. That deal, which replaced NAFTA, shields most Canadian goods from Trump’s higher tariff regime — including the 25% duty on foreign-made cars. But Trump retains broad power to renegotiate or suspend portions of the agreement, with a window opening as early as July 2026.
In the meantime, Trump has already slapped a 35% tariff on non-USMCA compliant Canadian goods, accusing Ottawa of failing to curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. On Saturday, he told reporters he plans to tack on an additional 10% penalty in direct response to the Reagan-themed commercial.
“Canada doesn’t get a pass just because they’re in USMCA,” Trump said. “When they’re undermining American workers and pushing false narratives, they’re going to feel it where it hurts — in their exports.”