LATEST UPDATES: Anti-tariff ad that angered Trump to air during World Series, Ontario's Ford says

Is the anti-tariff ad really to find fault for Canada-U.S. Merchandise negotiations breaking shoot down?

See the anti-tariff ad Doug Ford has been airing in the U.S.

Conservative MP, foreign affairs minister spar in question period after Trump halts trade talks

Canadians have been 'very difficult' to negotiate with on trade, Trump adviser says

Is the anti-tariff ad really to blame for Canada-U.S. Trade negotiations breaking down?

'We stand ready' to talk trade with U.S., Carney says after Trump cuts off negotiations

Trump calls Ontario ad quoting Reagan on tariffs a 'FRAUD,' ends trade talks

B.C. Premier David Eby says he’s not backing down from his province’s planned anti-tariff ads that will run in the U.S.

“Americans need to hear how tariffs raise prices. We’re making ads to defend British Columbia and Canada’s forestry workers. Our wood faces higher U.S. Tariffs than Russia. Absurd. Truth will win!” he posted on social media.

Eby is referring to the U.S. Administration’s recent hike to tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber, bringing them to a combined 45 per cent.

We’ve already seen the fallout of that in forestry-dependent communities in Northern B.C. This week, the family-owned Sinclar Group Forest Products announced it will scale back operations by 40 per cent at three of its sawmills — equivalent to shutting down one mill entirely.

As for those B.C. Ads — they’re not out yet. But once they hit American airwaves, they’re sure to get Trump’s attention.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said earlier this morning that Trump's decision to abruptly halt trade talks reinforces the need to diversify Canada’s economy.

"We already know that there's only one person in the American administration that takes decisions — and it is President Trump himself. We know that it is an administration that is very unpredictable and this has been part of Canadians' lives over the last few months," Joly said at a news conference in Sherbrooke, Que.

"We need to make sure that we reduce our dependency on the U.S. And that we support our businesses."

Carney announced earlier this week that the government's upcoming budget will include a plan to double non-U.S. Exports over the next decade.

Speaking at a church policy event in Vatican City today, Pope Leo has commented on the tension between Canada and the U.S. As Trump torpedoes the trade talks over Ontario's Reagan ad.

Leo, who is American by birth, said the two countries are "experiencing great difficulties."

"Two countries that we once considered the closest allies at times have become separated from one another. And it's another proof, another expression of why synodality, listening and dialogue are so important and how they have concrete applications in our daily lives," he said.

Synodality is a term used in the Catholic Church to refer to all the faithful working together in collaboration to advance the church's interests.

David Michael Lamb

This isn’t the first time Trump’s policies have clashed with those of Ronald Reagan. Back in 1987, Trump (then a New York real estate developer) took out a full-page ad in the New York Times and other papers criticizing then-president Reagan.

In an open letter that reads remarkably similarly to the way Trump talks now, he implied that Reagan was weak. The headline said, “There’s nothing wrong with America’s Foreign Defense Policy that a little backbone can’t cure.”

Trump complained that the U.S. Was footing the bill to protect allies who refuse to pay for their own defence. “Make Japan, Saudi Arabia, and others pay for the protection we extend as allies,” the letter said.

Although he didn’t mention tariffs specifically in the ad, his argument was the same then as it is now. In Trump’s view, Reagan’s policies were turning the U.S. Into a laughing stock.

While trade talks between Ottawa and Washington have stalled, some Canada-U.S. Relations are enduring.

The NFL’s Buffalo Bills appear to be backing the Toronto Blue Jays over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the upcoming World Series.

“LET’S GO BLUE JAYS,” the football team posted on social media.

The Blue Jays have ties with the city of Buffalo. The Buffalo Bisons are the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate and the team also played some home games in Buffalo during the pandemic.

The Bills have also played home games in Toronto in the past.

LET'S GO BLUE JAYS👏👏👏<a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BlueJays</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BillsMafia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BillsMafia</a> <a href="https://t.co/h9Ed2g6Yp7">pic.twitter.com/h9Ed2g6Yp7</a>

Premier Wab Kinew voiced his support online of the Ontario premier’s tariff ad.

“To my good friend Doug Ford, keep the ads on TV. They're effective, and this country is behind you,” Kinew said in a short video posted to social media.

President Trump’s tariffs go against Ronald Reagan’s legacy.<br>Doug Ford’s ads are good — keep them on TV 🇨🇦 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/elbowsup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#elbowsup</a> <a href="https://t.co/wpBSYWWKwc">pic.twitter.com/wpBSYWWKwc</a>

During the trade war with the U.S., Kinew has pulled U.S. Liquor off the store shelves and put up a massive Canadian flag on the front of the Manitoba Legislature.

It doesn’t appear that Ontario Premier Doug Ford wants to back down on the ad for now.

<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: When asked if Ontario is pulling the Ronald Reagan TV ads, Ontario Premier Doug Ford tells the <a href="https://twitter.com/globeandmail?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@globeandmail</a>: “I will be running the ad tonight for the World Series” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/onpoli?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#onpoli</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cdnpoli?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cdnpoli</a>

David Michael Lamb

It might be rational to think that the cancellation of tariff talks would reflect badly in the stock markets. But so far that’s not the case.

As of midday, North American markets are up modestly but not in any extreme or unusual way. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 180 points, about 0.6 per cent. In the U.S., the Dow Jones index, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were all up by about one per cent.

After asking the White House what Canada could do to get talks back on track, my colleague Katie Simpson just received a statement from White House spokesperson Kush Desai, who says there has been no “constructive progress” in trade talks with Canada.

“The Trump administration has repeatedly sought to address Canada’s long-standing, unfair trade barriers,” said Desai in the statement.

Ontario’s ad campaign, which he calls a misleadingly edited version of Ronald Reagan’s radio address, “is the latest example of how Canadian officials would rather play games than engage with the administration,” the statement reads.

“As President Trump made clear on Truth Social, further talks are a futile effort if Canada can’t be serious,” Desai concludes.

See the anti-tariff ad Doug Ford has been airing in the U.S.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government paid around $75 million to air this ad, featuring remarks from former president Ronald Reagan, on U.S. Television stations — a move that has angered President Donald Trump.

That Ronald Reagan radio address clipped by Ontario in its latest ad wasn't the only time the Republican president talked down tariffs.

In fact, you don't have to dig too far into the Reagan archives to find many instances of him singing the praises of free trade.

In his 1988 state of the union address, for example, Reagan said protectionism — like what Trump is pursuing now — should really be called "destructionism," due to the economic harm it can inflict.

"America's jobs, America's growth, America's future depends on trade. Trade that is free, open and fair," Reagan told Congress to huge applause.

"One of the greatest contributions the United States can make to the world is to promote freedom as the key to economic growth,” he said. “A creative, competitive America is the answer to a changing world, not trade wars that would close doors, create greater barriers and destroy millions of jobs.”

Later that same year, as Reagan was promoting the free trade deal he had signed with Canada, the Republican said "putting walls around our country is a prescription for ruin not renewal."

"What the world and the United States needs now is more trade and more open trade," he said.

---

---