US President Donald Trump escalated his war of words with Canada late Thursday (local time), hours after abruptly cancelling trade negotiations and accusing Ottawa of “fraudulent” interference in American judicial matters.
In a series of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social, the 47th POTUS claimed that Canada had “CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!” and had “fraudulently took a big buy ad saying that Ronald Reagan did not like Tariffs , when actually he LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY.”
Trump alleged that the advertisement, paid for by the government of Ontario, was designed to “illegally influence the United States Supreme Court in one of the most important rulings in the history of our Country.” He added, “Canada has long cheated on Tariffs, charging our farmers as much as 400%. Now they, and other countries, can’t take advantage of the US any longer. Thank you to the Ronald Reagan Foundation for exposing this FRAUD. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Hours earlier, Trump had announced that “ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” accusing Ottawa of “egregious behaviour” for airing the disputed advert. The US president wrote that the Ronald Reagan Foundation had revealed that Canada “fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs.”
The controversy erupted after the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said on X that an ad created by Ontario “misrepresents the ‘Presidential Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade’ dated April 25, 1987.”
What the advertisement showed
The advertisement at the centre of Donald Trump’s latest outburst was not fake but edited. It featured clips from Ronald Reagan’s April 25, 1987 national radio address, in which the former president spoke passionately in favour of free and fair trade and warned against the dangers of tariffs. The Ontario government bought airtime on major US networks for the ad, which used excerpts of Reagan’s remarks from Camp David, delivered as tensions rose between Washington and Tokyo.
In the speech, Reagan said the US had “clear evidence that Japanese companies were engaging in unfair trade practices,” but stressed he was “loath” to impose tariffs, warning they hurt workers and fuelled trade wars.
In a separate post, Trump declared, “THE UNITED STATES IS WEALTHY, POWERFUL, AND NATIONALLY SECURE AGAIN, ALL BECAUSE OF TARIFFS! THE MOST IMPORTANT CASE EVER IS IN THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who earlier said he aimed to double exports outside the US in response to Trump’s tariff threats, did not immediately comment. His office confirmed he would attend a summit in Asia on Friday.
Trade tensions between the neighbours have intensified in recent months. Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods have hit the auto and steel industries particularly hard, while Canada has imposed retaliatory levies on certain US imports.
In a series of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social, the 47th POTUS claimed that Canada had “CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!” and had “fraudulently took a big buy ad saying that Ronald Reagan did not like Tariffs , when actually he LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY.”
Trump alleged that the advertisement, paid for by the government of Ontario, was designed to “illegally influence the United States Supreme Court in one of the most important rulings in the history of our Country.” He added, “Canada has long cheated on Tariffs, charging our farmers as much as 400%. Now they, and other countries, can’t take advantage of the US any longer. Thank you to the Ronald Reagan Foundation for exposing this FRAUD. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Hours earlier, Trump had announced that “ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” accusing Ottawa of “egregious behaviour” for airing the disputed advert. The US president wrote that the Ronald Reagan Foundation had revealed that Canada “fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs.”
The controversy erupted after the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said on X that an ad created by Ontario “misrepresents the ‘Presidential Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade’ dated April 25, 1987.”
What the advertisement showed
The advertisement at the centre of Donald Trump’s latest outburst was not fake but edited. It featured clips from Ronald Reagan’s April 25, 1987 national radio address, in which the former president spoke passionately in favour of free and fair trade and warned against the dangers of tariffs. The Ontario government bought airtime on major US networks for the ad, which used excerpts of Reagan’s remarks from Camp David, delivered as tensions rose between Washington and Tokyo.
It’s official: Ontario’s new advertising campaign in the U.S. has launched.
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) October 16, 2025
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
In the speech, Reagan said the US had “clear evidence that Japanese companies were engaging in unfair trade practices,” but stressed he was “loath” to impose tariffs, warning they hurt workers and fuelled trade wars.
In a separate post, Trump declared, “THE UNITED STATES IS WEALTHY, POWERFUL, AND NATIONALLY SECURE AGAIN, ALL BECAUSE OF TARIFFS! THE MOST IMPORTANT CASE EVER IS IN THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who earlier said he aimed to double exports outside the US in response to Trump’s tariff threats, did not immediately comment. His office confirmed he would attend a summit in Asia on Friday.
Trade tensions between the neighbours have intensified in recent months. Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods have hit the auto and steel industries particularly hard, while Canada has imposed retaliatory levies on certain US imports.
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