Trump raises tariffs on Canadian goods in response to Reagan advert

U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would raise tariffs on goods imported from Canada after the province of Ontario aired an anti-tariff ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan.

In a social media post Saturday, Trump called the ad a “fraud” and blasted Canadian officials for not removing it before the World Baseball Championships.

“Due to their serious misrepresentation of the facts and their hostile act, I am increasing the tariffs imposed on Canada by 10% beyond what they currently pay,” he wrote.

After Trump withdrew from trade talks with Canada on Thursday, Ontario’s premier said he would pull the ad.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday he would suspend his province’s anti-tariff advertising campaign in the United States, telling reporters he made the decision after discussions with Premier Mark Carney “so that trade negotiations can resume.”

He also said the tournament would continue throughout the weekend, including the World Series games, which pit the Toronto Blue Jays against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Canada is the only G7 country that has not reached an agreement with the United States since Trump began imposing high tariffs on the products of its major trading partners.

The United States has already imposed a 35% levy on all Canadian products – even though most are exempt under an existing free trade agreement. He also imposed sectoral levies on Canadian products, including a 50% levy on metals and 25% on automobiles.

In his message, sent while traveling in Asia, Trump appeared to say he was adding 10 percentage points to these taxes.

Three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the United States, and Ontario is home to most of Canada’s auto manufacturing.

The ad, sponsored by the Ontario government, quotes former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, a Republican and icon of American conservatism, saying the tariffs “hurt all Americans.”

The video features excerpts from a 1987 national radio address focused on foreign trade.

The Ronald Reagan Foundation, charged with preserving the former president’s legacy, had criticized the ad for its “selective” use of audio and video and said it distorted Reagan’s speech. He also said the Ontario government did not seek permission to use it.

In his article on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said the ad should have been removed sooner.

“Their ad was supposed to be taken down IMMEDIATELY, but they let it circulate last night during the World Series knowing it was FRAUD,” he wrote while flying to Malaysia.

Ford previously pledged to run Reagan’s ad in every Republican-run district in the United States.

Both Trump and Carney will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Malaysia, but Trump told reporters accompanying him aboard Air Force One that he had no “plans” to meet with his Canadian counterpart during the trip.

In his message, Trump also accused Canada of trying to manipulate an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case that could end his entire tariff regime.

The case, which will be heard by America’s highest court next month, will determine whether the tariffs are constitutional.

On Thursday, Trump said the ad was designed to “interfere” with “THE MOST IMPORTANT CASE EVER.”

In response to Trump’s interest rate hike announced Saturday, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said it hoped “this threat of escalation can be resolved through diplomacy and further negotiations.”

“Tariffs, whatever their level, remain a tax on America first and then on North American competitiveness as a whole,” the organization’s CEO, Candace Laing, said in a statement to the BBC.

The Reagan ad isn’t the only way Ontario — home of the Toronto Blue Jays — is using the World Series as a platform to criticize Trump’s tariffs.

In a video posted Friday, Ford and California Governor Gavin Newsom jokingly bet on which team would win the series.

The two men repeatedly joked about prices in the video, with Ford pledging to send Newsom a can of maple syrup if the LA Dodgers won.

“Customs duties might cost me a few extra dollars at the border these days, but it will be worth it,” he wrote.

In response, Newsom asked Ford to resume allowing the sale of U.S.-produced alcohol in liquor stores across the province and pledged to send him “California’s championship-worthy wine” if the Blue Jays triumphed.

They ended their exchange by both declaring, “Here’s to a great World Series and a tariff-free friendship between Ontario and California.” »