Last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford launched of a new ad spot aimed at Donald Trump’s tariff war with Canada. The ad is infuriating Trump and Republicans as it uses audio and video of former President Ronald Reagan denouncing tariffs in a 1987 radio address.
Late Thursday night, Trump raged on social media that he was “terminating” trade negotiations with Canada due to the ad spot.
It’s official: Ontario’s new advertising campaign in the U.S. has launched.
Using every tool we have, we’ll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada. The way to prosperity is by working together.
Watch our new ad. pic.twitter.com/SgIVC1cqMJ
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) October 16, 2025
More from the Washington Post:
In his post late Thursday, Trump accused Canada, without evidence, of “fraudulently” using a “fake” advertisement that excerpts audio from a 1987 radio address in which Reagan describes imposing tariffs as a nearsighted policy that will imperil U.S. jobs.
Canadians have reacted to Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats with rare fury, boycotting U.S. products and avoiding travel. One-third of Canadians had a favorable view of the United States, Pew Research reported in July, down 20 percentage points since last year.
Canada sends more than three-quarters of its exports to the United States. Trump has imposed several sets of levies on Canada: 35 percent tariffs on goods that don’t comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, plus additional levies on steel, aluminum, autos and lumber.
A spokesperson for Ontario’s premier says the ad will run during the first two games of the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute says the ad misrepresented Reagan’s address by using “selective audio and video.”
But while the ad the spot is edited to fit a one minute ad format, it doesn’t appear to misconstrue the point of Reagan’s radio address which was clearly “tariffs are bad.”
In the 1987 address, Reagan explains his decision to impose limited tariffs on Japanese products such as computers and TV sets over what he says were unfair trade practices. But he’s clear in saying he made the decision reluctantly, lamenting the adverse effects of trade restrictions.
Reagan’s tariffs — which affected less than one-half of 1 percent of Japanese goods in the U.S., were gradually lifted over the next few years.
Here’s Reagan’s original address in its entirety:
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