Ontario will suspend its short-lived U.S. television advertising campaign criticizing American tariffs, Premier Doug Ford announced Friday, as Canada prepares to resume trade negotiations with Washington. Ford said the decision followed discussions with Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is in Asia attending summits and expected to meet with President Donald Trump. The suspension aims to foster a more constructive atmosphere for renewed talks after Trump abruptly halted trade discussions in response to the ad.<\/p>\n
The campaign, which featured archival footage of former President Ronald Reagan warning against tariffs, angered Trump, who labeled the ad \u201ccrooked\u201d and \u201cpossibly AI-generated\u201d after it aired during Game 1 of the World Series. Officials at the Reagan Library said Ontario\u2019s government did not have permission to use Reagan\u2019s image and accused the province of taking him out of context. Despite announcing the suspension, Ford confirmed the ads would continue airing through the weekend to capture major viewership during the first two World Series games. \u201cWe\u2019ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels,\u201d Ford said, emphasizing that the campaign succeeded in sparking debate over the economic impact of tariffs.<\/p>\n
Reactions across Canada were mixed. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith welcomed the decision, saying diplomacy\u2014not public confrontation\u2014was the right path forward. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, however, argued that Trump\u2019s anger proved the ads were effective and urged Ford to \u201ckeep the ads on TV.\u201d Prime Minister Carney, speaking from Ottawa\u2019s airport, said Canada was ready to resume \u201cdetailed, constructive negotiations\u201d on sectors like steel, aluminum, and energy once the U.S. returned to the table. Trump, departing for Asia later that evening, said he had no immediate plans to meet with Carney but left open the possibility of renewed discussions now that the ads were being pulled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ontario will suspend its short-lived U.S. television advertising campaign criticizing American tariffs, Premier Doug Ford announced Friday, as Canada prepares to resume trade negotiations with Washington. Ford… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n