Trump cancels trade talks with Canada over anti-tariff ad

US President Donald Trump has said he is ending all trade negotiations with Canada immediately.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that the country had run an ad in which former US President Ronald Reagan spoke negatively about the tariffs.

“Based on their outrageous behavior, all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated,” Trump wrote late Thursday.

The US president has imposed a 35% tariff on Canadian imports, although he has granted exemptions for goods covered by the USMCA – the free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that Trump negotiated during his first term.

Trump said the video, sponsored by the Ontario government, was designed to “interfere” with the US Supreme Court, referring to an upcoming decision in November. Whether Washington’s broad global tariffs are legal.

The court’s decision represents the biggest test yet of Trump’s presidential authority and signature economic policy, potentially forcing the U.S. to return billions collected in tariffs.

In the one-minute ad released last week, Reagan’s voice can be heard over images that include the New York Stock Exchange and a crane decorated with both the US and Canadian flags.

Video Excerpts A 1987 National Radio Address Reagan focused on foreign trade.

“When someone says ‘tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing a patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for a little while, but only for a little while,” Reagan says.

“But in the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American, workers and consumers.

“Higher tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation from foreign countries and a vicious trade war… Markets contract and collapse, businesses and industries close, and millions lose their jobs,” Reagan continues.

In a post on X, the Ronald Reagan Foundation said the Ontario government had used “select audio and video” of the former US president’s remarks on the tariffs.

“The Government of Ontario did not seek or receive permission to use and edit the comment,” the statement said.

The foundation said the ad “misrepresented” the former president’s address, without elaborating on why.

He said the foundation was “reviewing its legal options”.

In a post accompanying the video ad, Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote that “we will never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada.”

Ford, who leads Canada’s most populous province and largest economy, has been a vocal critic of US tariffs.

Ontario is one of the Canadian provinces hardest hit by the US tariffs, particularly in the car and steel industries.

Ford hit back at Trump’s earlier threat of tariffs against Canada, saying he was ready Disconnect the power supply to the US.

He also described Washington’s trade policies against Canada as pulling the knife and “brought it to us“, and called on US lawmakers to put pressure on Trump.

The BBC has reached out to the Canadian embassy in the US, the Ontario government and Doug Ford’s office for comment.

The ad ran on mainstream TV channels in the US as part of a $75m Canadian dollar (£40m; $54m) campaign.

Trump has also imposed sector-specific tariffs on Canadian goods, including 50% on metals and 25% on automobiles.

The White House’s global tariffs – particularly on steel, aluminum and cars – have hit Canada hard, causing job losses and pressure on businesses.

A similar Reagan clip was used by the Chinese embassy in Washington In a post on X Casting doubt on Trump’s global tariffs earlier this year.