Ontario Premier Doug Ford moved quickly Friday to emphasize the strength of Canada’s relationship with the United States, responding to a blistering post from U.S. President Donald Trump that accused the country of fraud and trade manipulation.
“Canada and the United States are friends, neighbours and allies. President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together,” Ford wrote in a statement shared to X. He added: “God bless Canada and God bless the United States.”
To underscore his message, Ford uploaded a video of Reagan’s address.
The president’s comments were made hours after he announced the termination of trade talks with Canada, citing what he described as anti-tariff advertising campaigns linked to the Ford government.
In a lengthy post, the U.S. president alleged that Canada had “fraudulently” purchased ads misrepresenting Reagan’s views on tariffs, claiming the former president “LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY.”
The Reagan ad, sponsored by Ontario and released last week, features excerpts of an address Reagan gave in 1987 focusing on foreign trade.
“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,” Premier Ford’s Oct. 16 caption read on Instagram.
On Thursday night, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute posted on X that the ad” created by the government of Ontario “misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade,” dated April 25, 1987. It added that Ontario did not receive foundation permission “to use and edit the remarks.”
The foundation said it is “reviewing legal options in this matter.”
Trump accuses Canada of ‘illegally influencing’ U.S. Supreme Court
Trump went further on Friday, accusing Canada of attempting to “illegally influence the United States Supreme Court in one of the most important rulings in the history of our Country.” He repeated long-standing complaints that Canada has “long cheated on Tariffs, charging our farmers as much as 400%,” before thanking the Ronald Reagan Foundation for “exposing this FRAUD.”
As for the Supreme Court, Trump is referring to a case scheduled for early November in which the justices will consider the legality of his sweeping tariffs. Two lower courts have determined that Trump cannot unilaterally impose wide-ranging tariffs under an emergency powers law. His administration argues otherwise, saying he can regulate importation, including tariff policy.
The initial post on Trump’s social media site came Thursday night after Prime Minister Mark Carney said he aims to double his country’s exports to countries outside the U.S. because of the threat posed by Trump’s tariffs.
Trump posted, “The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs.”
“The ad was for $75,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”
Prime Minister Carney was set to leave Friday morning for a summit in Asia, while Trump is set to do the same Friday evening.
With files from The Associated Press
