Former President Donald Trump has just announced a new 10 percent tariff on all imports coming from Canada. He does this by referring to a controversial advertisement produced by the Ontario provincial government. The decision comes in response to an anti-tariff ad. In this foreign & domestic policy fix speech advertisement, the late, great Ronald Reagan intones that high tariffs would destroy the U.S. economy.
In his announcement, one-time GOP presidential frontrunner Trump bundled together his anger that the government of Ontario has chosen to run the ad. He called it a “hostile act” and an infringement on Reagan’s legacy because it distorted Reagan’s position on tariffs. Trump ordered the ad pulled “at once.” It nonetheless ran during the second game of the World Series, the Blue Jays versus the Dodgers, which he interpreted as a blatant denial of his request.
“Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.” – Donald Trump
The ad was intended to shape an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision on the legality of Trump’s tariff policy. It highlighted Reagan’s same caution about the harmful consequences of high tariffs, emphasizing the severe threat to the U.S. economy.
In response to the growing furor, Trump has pulled the plug on trade negotiations with Ottawa. So far the Canadian government hasn’t provided a public response to Trump’s tariff announcement. They’re going mum too on his criticisms of the ad.
Even Ontario Premier Doug Ford acknowledged the reality. At a press conference announcing the move, he said that the province would be suspending its own advertising campaign in the US, effective Monday, to help get discussions started again. He had apparently sought the advice of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney before making this move.
“Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses. We’ve achieved our goal, having reached US audiences at the highest levels.” – Doug Ford
We know that Ford and his team will be out selling their message hard this weekend. They’re trying to keep the issue top of mind with American audiences, even as they suspend the ad campaign.
The ongoing trade dispute is significant for Canada, which aims to double its non-U.S. exports over the next decade in response to Trump’s trade policies. And just as clearly, both nations are still figuring their way through this confusing new territory. It’s too soon to know how the new tariff will impact their overall economic relations or whether it might escalate tensions between the two further.
