US President Donald Trump has announced higher tariffs on Canadian goods after Ontario aired an anti-tariff advertisement featuring former US President Ronald Reagan.
Trump denounced the advert as a “fraud” and accused Canadian officials of failing to remove it before the World Series baseball championship. “Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now,” he wrote on social media on Saturday.
Trade tensions between US and Canada escalate
Trump’s announcement followed his withdrawal from trade talks with Canada on Thursday, further straining relations. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday he would suspend the province’s anti-tariff campaign in the US after discussions with Prime Minister Mark Carney “so that trade talks can resume.”
Ford confirmed, however, that the advert would continue airing over the weekend during the World Series, featuring the Toronto Blue Jays against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Canada remains the only G7 nation without a trade deal with the US since Trump began imposing steep tariffs on key partners. The US currently applies a 35% tariff on Canadian goods, though many products are exempt under an existing free trade pact. Sector-specific levies include 50% on metals and 25% on automobiles.
While traveling to Asia, Trump said he would add another ten percentage points to those tariffs. Roughly three-quarters of Canada’s exports go to the US, and Ontario is the hub of the country’s automobile industry.
Reagan advert sparks political backlash
Ontario’s government funded the controversial advert, which used excerpts from Reagan’s 1987 radio address on foreign trade. The clip quoted Reagan saying tariffs “hurt every American.”
The Ronald Reagan Foundation, which preserves Reagan’s legacy, criticized the ad for “selective” editing and said it misrepresented Reagan’s message. The foundation also confirmed that Ontario did not request permission to use the material.
In another post, Trump insisted the advert should have been removed immediately. “Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD,” he wrote while flying to Malaysia.
Ford had previously pledged to run the Reagan advert across every Republican-led district in the US.
Trump refuses meeting with Canadian prime minister
Both Trump and Carney are attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he has no “intention” of meeting with his Canadian counterpart during the trip.
Trump also accused Canada of trying to influence an upcoming US Supreme Court case that could decide whether his tariff policy is constitutional. The case is scheduled for next month, which Trump called “THE MOST IMPORTANT CASE EVER.”
World Series becomes a stage for trade jokes
Ontario has used the World Series spotlight to mock Trump’s tariffs in a playful way. In a video released Friday, Ford and California Governor Gavin Newsom joked about the Blue Jays-Dodgers matchup.
They made friendly bets, with Ford promising to send Newsom a can of maple syrup if the Dodgers win. “The tariff might cost me a few extra bucks at the border these days, but it’ll be worth it,” Ford said.
Newsom replied by asking Ford to allow American-made alcohol back into Ontario’s liquor stores. He pledged to send “California’s championship-worthy wine” if the Blue Jays win.
Both leaders ended their exchange with a lighthearted toast: “Here’s to a great World Series, and a tariff-free friendship between Ontario and California.”
