The fragile trade negotiations between the United States and Canada, already fraught with tension over escalating tariffs, have been spectacularly derailed by an unexpected adversary: the ghost of a Republican icon.
Late Thursday night, the U.S. abruptly “terminated” all trade talks with its northern neighbor, citing an anti-tariff television advertisement funded by the Canadian provincial government of Ontario. The ad’s offense? It featured the voice of former President Ronald Reagan, a hero to many U.S. conservatives, speaking out forcefully against the very trade barriers central to the current administration’s policy.
The Contentious Core: Reagan’s Own Words
The ad, a one-minute spot paid for by Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government under Premier Doug Ford, was launched to sway American public opinion, particularly among Republican voters, against U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods like steel, aluminum, and autos.
Its dramatic centerpiece is audio taken from Reagan’s April 1987 “Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade.” Set against images of American workers, families, and cargo ships, the ad quotes Reagan warning starkly of the dangers of protectionism:
- “When someone says: ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing… And sometimes, for a short while it works, but only for a short time.”
- “But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer.”
- “High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars… Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse. Businesses and industries shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs.”
The quotes themselves are authentic, directly lifted from Reagan’s speech. However, the controversy—and the trigger for the diplomatic meltdown—lies in the context and editing.
The “Fake” or the “Inconvenient Truth”?
Upon the ad’s wide distribution across U.S. television networks, President Donald Trump unleashed a furious social media broadside, declaring the advertisement “FAKE” and announcing, “ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.” He accused Canada of “fraudulently” using the ad in an attempt to influence U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding the legality of his global tariffs.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute quickly issued a statement supporting the President’s anger, claiming the ad used “selective audio and video” and “misrepresents” Reagan’s address. The foundation also stated that the Ontario government did not seek permission to use the former president’s voice and image.
Fact-checkers and critics, however, were quick to point out that the ad’s quotes, though spliced together for brevity, were Reagan’s actual words from a speech that championed free trade and warned extensively against the dangers of protectionism, particularly recalling the Smoot-Hawley tariffs that exacerbated the Great Depression.
The core of the “misrepresentation” claim appears to be what the ad left out: the fact that Reagan delivered the 1987 speech to explain his reluctant decision to impose limited, targeted duties on certain Japanese products in response to a specific, alleged violation of a trade agreement. By focusing solely on Reagan’s powerful warning against broad protectionism, the Canadian ad framed the former president as an unequivocal opponent of all tariffs, challenging the current administration’s foundational trade philosophy.
A $75 Million Campaign Pays Off—A Little Too Well
The $75 million advertising campaign, targeting Republican districts in the U.S., was explicitly designed to leverage the powerful free-trade tradition within the Republican party against the administration’s more protectionist stance.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a conservative with a populist streak who has often sparred with Ottawa, defended the move, saying the goal was to “initiate a conversation” with the American people about the impact of tariffs on jobs and businesses.
The campaign has certainly achieved its goal of reaching the highest levels of the U.S. government, albeit at the catastrophic cost of freezing immediate trade talks. As Washington and Ottawa grapple with the fallout, the voice of the 40th U.S. President has unexpectedly become the central player in a 21st-century transatlantic trade war.