Ford insists on his decision to run anti-tariff ad in US
(MENAFN) Ontario Premier Doug Ford has stood by his decision to air an anti-tariff advertisement in the U.S. featuring former President Ronald Reagan, insisting that “we have achieved our goal.”
Ford noted that the TV spot has reached “one billion views” and attracted attention internationally, including in the UK and India.
His remarks come after U.S. President Donald Trump suspended trade talks with Canada over the advertisement and threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on Canadian goods “over and above” existing levies.
Both Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were attending the ASEAN summit in Asia this week. Trump told reporters he had no plans to meet with Carney and would not do so “for a long time.”
Over the weekend, Trump announced the extra 10% tariff via a Truth Social post, though it remains unclear whether the levy would be applied broadly or only to specific sectors. When pressed for details, Trump stated, “I don't know when it's going to kick in, and we'll see, but I don't really want to discuss it.”
The U.S. currently applies a 35% tariff on Canadian goods, with most items exempt under an existing free trade agreement, alongside targeted tariffs of 50% on steel and aluminum and 25% on automobiles.
Carney told reporters that Canada and the U.S. were close to finalizing a trade deal and were exchanging term sheets before negotiations were interrupted. “Then there were the ads, and everything changed,” he said.
The Ontario-sponsored advertisement quoted Reagan as saying tariffs “hurt every American,” using excerpts from his 1987 national radio address on foreign trade. Trump described the ad as “fraudulent” and accused Canada of attempting to influence an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case concerning the legality of his tariffs on multiple countries.
Carney avoided criticizing Ford or the ad, emphasizing that trade negotiations with the U.S. remain a federal responsibility. Ford, however, stated that both the prime minister and his chief of staff had seen the ad before its release.
Speaking in the Ontario legislature, Ford called the commercial “the most successful in the history of North America” and said it had sparked discussions across the U.S. and globally about Trump’s tariffs. “President Trump wants to attack our country, but I'm never going to take a back seat to President Trump,” he declared.
Several Canadian politicians have voiced support for Ford. Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton, described him as having “the courage to call out the US president on his inconsistencies.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby announced that his province plans to launch its own anti-tariff advertisements next month in response to U.S. lumber levies.
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