President Donald Trump announced Thursday night that he was terminating all trade negotiations with Canada after criticizing an anti-tariff advertisement produced by Ontario that used archival audio of Ronald Reagan and calling the ad “FAKE.”

“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 president wrote on Truth Social.

“They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts. 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.”

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The 60-second spot was part of a $53.5 million campaign launched by Ontario Premier Doug Ford aimed at informing American voters about the effects tariffs can have on everyday life.

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Ford said at the time of the campaign’s launch, “Let’s take Ronald Reagan’s words and let’s blast it to the American people. We’re going to repeat that message to every Republican district there is right across the entire country.”

The ad pulls from a 1987 radio address in which Reagan explained why he was placing tariffs on Japanese electronics.

In the advertisement, Reagan warns that while tariffs may appear to protect American jobs in the short term, “over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American, worker and consumer.”

The ad continues with Reagan’s explanation of retaliation and trade wars:

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“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.”

Ford described the creative as “not nasty” and “very factual,” calling Reagan “the best president [America] has ever seen, in my opinion,” and said the ad would run on major television networks across the United States.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute issued a rebuttal Thursday, saying the ad “misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks.”

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The institute added that it was “reviewing its legal options in this matter” and linked to the full text of Reagan’s original address.

Trump tied the ad to broader legal and trade disputes in his Truth Social post and framed tariffs as critical to national security and the U.S. economy.

The president has imposed tariffs on a number of Canadian products in recent months, including lumber, aluminum, steel and automobiles, and announced a 25 percent tariff on heavy trucks effective Nov. 1.

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Despite the measures, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) continues to govern much of the trade relationship between the two countries.

The ad and Trump’s response come amid sensitive diplomatic exchanges between Washington and Ottawa. The Canadian leader referenced in several reports is described as having sought to improve ties with the White House.

According to the provided account, the Canadian official framed his visit as an effort to restore bilateral relations and discuss shared economic and security priorities.

The text also recounts an exchange in the Oval Office in which the Canadian official reportedly said, “You are a transformative president,” and Trump quipped about a hypothetical “merger of Canada and the United States.”

The report asserts that the United States imported $412 billion worth of goods from Canada in 2024, and that Canada’s GDP fell 1.5 percent in the second quarter, adding to pressure on Ottawa to secure favorable terms.

It also quotes critics at home urging Canada to extract substantive concessions, with one political scientist saying, “Mark Carney has no choice, he must return from Washington with progress.”

The Ontario campaign’s use of Reagan audio and the Reagan Foundation’s objection appear to have escalated already tense trade discussions. The institute said Ontario did not seek permission to edit the remarks, and the foundation linked audiences to the full address as it considers legal action.

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Ford initially threatened retaliatory tariffs in response to earlier U.S. measures, though he ultimately stepped back from those threats.

The advertisement, Ford said, was intended to present a cautionary message to American voters about tariffs’ long-term consequences and to use Reagan’s own words to illustrate that point.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was quoted as saying that Canada’s current leadership was “much more centrist, much more interested in exploiting their energy resources” than the previous government, and that Washington was developing a “great relationship” with Canada dependent on cooperation over mutual interests, even as tariff disputes continue.

The White House has argued that tariffs protect domestic industries and that the United States subsidizes Canadian economic and security benefits in ways that justify tougher trade stances.

Trump reiterated those themes in his Truth Social post, asserting that the U.S. protects Canada and criticizing Ottawa’s economic policies.

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The termination of trade negotiations marks a sharp diplomatic turn, with both economic and political ramifications.

The Ontario ad that prompted the response framed tariffs as harmful to American workers and consumers over time; the Reagan Foundation’s assertion that the ad misused archival remarks sparked Trump’s declaration to halt trade talks.

The legal and diplomatic fallout from this episode is ongoing.