Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday said that he apologised to US President Donald Trump over anti-tariff ad featuring former US leader Ronald Reagan and pointed out that Trump “was offended".
“I did apologise to the president. The President was offended," Carney told journalists in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, adding trade talks would restart when the US is “ready".
Trump announced he would be hiking tariffs on Canadian goods by an additional 10 percent and terminated all trade talks following what he called the “fake" anti-tariff ad campaign.
The ad that sparked the row was posted on X by Ontario Premier Doug Ford. It opened with a vintage clip of former US President Ronald Reagan warning against tariffs, saying they might look patriotic at first but “over the long run… hurt every American worker and consumer."
Ontario chose to air the ad during an American League Championship Series game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners — a slot that drew more than 9 million viewers on Fox Sports.
But the Reagan Presidential Foundation wasn’t pleased. According to NBC News, it said it was “reviewing its legal options" over the use of Reagan’s remarks, adding that Ontario “did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit" the former president’s radio address.
Trump then accused Canada of using a ‘FAKE’ advertisement featuring his predecessor Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs cancelled trade negotiations with US’ northern neighbour last month.
“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs," Trump wrote on Truth Social, a social media platform he owns.
Meanwhile, Carney called talks with China’s leader Xi Jinping a “turning point" in relations, adding he had raised tricky topics like foreign interference with Beijing.
Canada’s relations with China have been among the worst of any Western nation but both are at the sharp end of Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught, even after Xi and the US leader’s deal Thursday to dial back tensions.
China and Canada on Friday held their first formal talks between their leaders since 2017.
