Trump halts trade talks with Canada over ‘fake’ Reagan ad

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was immediately ending all trade talks with Canada, accusing it of misquoting former President Ronald Reagan in an advertising campaign against tariffs.

“Based on their egregious behaviour, all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated.

“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is fake, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

The latest extraordinary twist in relations between the North American neighbours comes just over two weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Trump in the White House to seek a relaxation of stiff US tariffs.

The Ronald Reagan Foundation said on X that the government of the Canadian province of Ontario had used “selectively audio and video” from a radio address to the nation to the nation on trade by Reagan in April 1987.

It said the ad “misrepresents” what the Republican former actor had said in his address, adding that it was “reviewing its legal options in this matter.”

Trump said the ad was designed to “interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court,” which is due to rule on his sweeping global tariffs.

The sudden decision to end trade talks will come as a blow to Carney, whom Trump described as a “world-class leader” when they met on October 7, adding that the Canadian would be “very happy” with their discussion.

At the time, however, Trump offered no immediate concessions on tariffs.

Roughly 85 per cent of cross-border trade in both directions remains tariff-free as the United States and Canada continue to adhere to an existing North American trade deal called the USMCA.

But Trump’s global sectoral tariffs—particularly on steel, aluminium, and autos—have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and squeezing businesses.

AFP