WASHINGTON – U.S President Donald Trump said Prime Minister Mark Carney apologized for an advertisement paid for by the Ontario government that halted trade talks.
“I like (Carney) a lot but, you know, what they did was wrong,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One during a flight to Florida on Friday.
“He was very nice. He apologized for what they did with the commercial because it was a false commercial.”
When asked if trade talks had resumed, Trump said “No.” The president added he has a “very good relationship” with Carney.
Carney’s office said the prime minister will speak about the conversation Saturday in South Korea, where he is continuing international outreach at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju. Earlier Friday, Carney held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the summit’s sidelines.
Trump and Carney appeared cordial at a dinner in South Korea on Wednesday, which marked their first in-person meeting since the president terminated negotiations over the ad. The spot featured a 1987 radio address of the late U.S. president Ronald Reagan railing against tariffs.
Trump at first appeared unbothered by the advertisement — which played in major American TV markets — and told reporters at the White House on Oct. 21 that “if I was Canada I’d take that same ad also.”
He changed his tune a few days later, posting about Canada’s “egregious behaviour” on social media and saying that trade talks were terminated. Trump also threatened to add an additional 10 per cent tariff on Canadian goods — although it remains unclear if or how those duties would go ahead.
Trump on Friday repeated his claim that the ad was “false” and that Reagan loved tariffs. Multiple analyses of the advertisement have said it accurately reflected Reagan’s criticism of tariffs.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has stood by the advertisement, saying he would “never apologize” for pushing back against hostile trade measures designed to poach jobs from his province. Ford has said Reagan was a strong supporter of free and fair trade between Canada and America.
“Ontario’s ad was intended to initiate a conversation about the impact of tariffs on American workers,” Ford posted on social media Oct. 27. “In seven days, it achieved 11.4 billion views, raising awareness of President Reagan’s warnings against protectionism.”
The premier’s office Friday said Ford’s previous comments about the advertisement stand.
Carney has said that Canada and the United States were close to a deal — with specific conversations on steel, aluminum and energy — when Trump suddenly froze the trade talks. He has said Canada is ready to pick up negotiations when the United States is ready.
Trump was extremely complimentary of Carney during a meeting at the White House earlier in October and said the prime minister would leave Washington happy. A deal never materialized but Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, told a Senate committee hearing this week that her team was having near-daily meetings and negotiations became more intensive and detailed.
While trade talks remain paused, Hillman said her team in Washington has continued to communicate with American officials.
“This relationship is strong. It’s resilient. There’s so much that we are doing together,” Hillman, who appeared by video, said Wednesday.
“The channels of communication are open and we will get back to it. You know why we’ll get back to it, because it’s in the interests of Americans and it’s in the interests of Canadians.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2025.
— With files from Kyle Duggan in Ottawa
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