President Trump just went from “O Canada” to “No, Canada.”

Last night on Truth Social, President Trump announced that all talks regarding a new trade agreement between the United States and Canada were being “terminated,” immediately. But why?

Donald J. Trump Truth Social Post 10:39 PM EST 10/23/25 pic.twitter.com/qbvOeThsee

— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) October 24, 2025

For everyone who has forgotten, President Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on pretty much every single trading partner of the United States. The legality of that action has been working its way through the courts, with the Federal Circuit of the US Court of Appeals ruling back in August that Trump could not use the IEEPA to impose tariffs. The case, formally named Learning Services, Inc. v. Trump, is scheduled for oral arguments on November 5th.

Canada, although already in a free trade agreement with the United States that President Trump negotiated during his first term, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), was now having to negotiate a new trade deal to avoid these tariffs. While both sides seemed to be getting closer to a deal, Ontario premier Doug Ford decided to release an ad against tariffs using the late President Ronald Reagan, and do a huge ad buy across the United States.

It’s official: Ontario’s new advertising campaign in the U.S. has launched. 

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.

Watch our new ad. pic.twitter.com/SgIVC1cqMJ

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) October 16, 2025

The words of Reagan are a stitch job, altered to fit the ad.

In the speech from 1987, Reagan announced the imposition of new tariffs on semiconductors from Japan. He also criticized tariffs more broadly, but said the semiconductors were “a special case” and that there is “clear evidence that Japanese companies were engaging in unfair trade practices that violated an agreement between Japan and the United States.”

Every line in the ad was said by Reagan in that address, which you can read here and watch here. Some of his lines have been spliced together, and other remarks have been omitted. The ad does not mention Trump.

The Ronald Reagan Foundation cried foul, and are looking at their legal options, though Doug Ford is claiming that Reagan’s speech is in the public domain and is “an unedited excerpt,” which is clearly not true.

The ad and the Reagan Foundation’s reaction got President Trump’s attention, which led to the cancellation of the continuing trade talks.

Trump then piled on via Truth Social this morning, crediting the Reagan Foundation for exposing the ad. (He also claims that Reagan loved tariffs, which no, he didn’t.)

Donald J. Trump Truth Social Post 07:20 AM EST 10/24/25 pic.twitter.com/ItdJHbAp5x

— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) October 24, 2025

The person who should be the most pissed off about this turn of events is Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney. Whatever his feelings about President Trump or these trade negotiations, it all just got completely torpedoed by Doug Ford. The closest American equivalent would be a state governor wrecking negotiations on behalf of the entire country. Ford loves to brag about hanging out with Carney – one has to wonder if his access to the prime minister just got cut off after this stunt. After all, Ford just blew $75 million of Ontario’s money (Canadian dollars) for a VERY extensive ad buy.

The premier’s office says the ad will begin airing this week on Newsmax and Bloomberg.

Over the next two weeks it will also start airing on Fox News, Fox Sports, NBC, CBS, CNBC, ESPN and ABC as well as those networks’ local affiliates, and on the local stations of Comcast, Spectrum and Sinclair Group.

Reportedly, the ad will also be airing during the World Series, which will draw eyes from both Canada and the United States (thanks to the Toronto Blue Jays winning the American League pennant).

Carney has said that he is ready to resume talks, but that sounds unlikely at the moment.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday that Canada stands ready to resume trade talks with the United States that President Donald Trump halted over an anti-tariff advertisement issued by Ontario’s provincial government.

“My colleagues have been working with their American colleagues on detailed constructive negotiations, discussions on specific sectors,” Carney said before departing Ottawa for his first official visit to Asia, where he aims to diversify trade ties away from the United States.

Carney had removed most of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports imposed by his predecessor, but White House adviser Kevin Hassett said Trump was frustrated with Canada and trade talks have not been going well.

“I think the frustration has built up over time,” Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters at the White House. “The Canadians have been very difficult to negotiate with.”

Asked for specifics, Hassett cited a “lack of flexibility.”

Even if Carney is hopeful that the Supreme Court would rule that the IEEPA does not allow Trump to raise tariffs, the case hasn’t even been presented yet, and the ruling could take until next June to be announced. It was in Canada’s best interests to keep negotiating, even if the tariffs ended up going away. Ford just threw a proverbial grenade into the entire negotiation process, but for what purpose? How does he think the Supreme Court works in this country? Does he think that by splicing and dicing a Reagan speech, American citizens will demand that the tariffs be eliminated? The Supreme Court may very well rule against Trump, and that would end this entire argument, but honestly, Canada (looking at you, Ontario) – what were you thinking?

Featured image: President Donald Trump during the multilateral summit meeting on August 18, 2025, official White House photo by Daniel Torok via the White House Flickr page, cropped, public domain