Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government will pause its $75 million U.S. ad campaign targeting tariffs after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly ended trade negotiations with Canada in response to the ads.
In a post on X Friday afternoon, Ford said the campaign had achieved its purpose of sparking a conversation in the United States about the economic impact of tariffs. “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 wrote. “We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels.”
The premier said the ads will continue to air through the weekend, including during the first two games of the World Series, before being paused on Monday. Ford made the decision following a discussion with Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier in the day.
“The people elected our government to protect Ontario—our workers, businesses, families and communities,” Ford wrote. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.” He added that both Canada and the United States are “so much stronger when we work together.”
According to news reports, Ford’s office confirmed that the ads would run on Fox during Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night. The campaign, launched earlier this month, uses archival audio of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan warning about the dangers of tariffs. The ads are part of Ontario’s effort to oppose protectionist measures that could harm cross-border trade.
Trump reacted strongly to the campaign Thursday night, accusing Canada of “fraudulently” using Reagan’s remarks. In a post on Truth Social, he described the ads as “fake” and announced that all trade talks with Canada were being terminated.
In response, Ford shared the full link to Reagan’s 1987 radio address on YouTube, which includes the excerpt used in the ad. “Canada and the United States are friends, neighbours and allies. President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together. God bless Canada and God bless the United States,” Ford wrote.
This is not the first time Ford’s policies have triggered pushback from Trump. In March, the Ontario premier’s decision to impose a 25 per cent surcharge on energy exports to certain U.S. states led Trump to threaten doubling tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Ford later paused the surcharge, and Trump did not move forward with his threat.
Ford and Carney had appeared together at an energy news conference in Pickering just hours before Trump’s latest statement.
