Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted remarks by former U.S. president Ronald Reagan on social media this morning, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was ending trade talks with Canada over an ad campaign that featured clips from the same address.
Ford says Canada and U.S. are friends, neighbours and allies and Reagan knew that both are stronger together.
Trump doubled down on his criticism of the Ontario ads this morning and accused Canada of trying to influence an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling on his global tariff regime.
The Ontario government paid about $75 million for the ads to air across multiple American television stations using audio and video of former president Ronald Reagan speaking about tariffs in 1987.
On Thursday, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute posted on social media that the ads misrepresent the president’s address and said Ontario did not seek or receive permission to “use and edit the remarks.”
Ford’s office said in a statement in response to the Reagan Foundation that the commercial uses an unedited excerpt from one of Reagan’s public addresses, which is available through public domain.
America’s top court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in November over whether Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, known as IEEPA, to hit most of the world with devastating duties is legal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2025.
The Canadian Press
