Canada says it will pull ad using Reagan speech on tariffs to restore trade negotiations with US

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Friday announced that he would be pulling a controversial ad next week, which featured a recording of a speech by Republican former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs on foreign goods.

The ad started circulating in Canada last week, and President Donald Trump canceled all trade talks with Canada over the controversy. The ad was sponsored by the Ontario government, not Canada's larger government.

Ford said he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and decided to pause the advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume. He said the ad achieved his goal of getting the United States' attention.

“Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford said, per the Associated Press. “We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels.”

It is not clear if the premier's actions will go far enough to restore trade negotiations, but the Ronald Reagan Foundation said the province was not authorized to use the recording and that the clip "misrepresents" the 1987 speech.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.