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Trump Hikes Canada’s Tariffs by 10 Percent for Not Immediately Pulling Anti-Tariff Ad
The U.S. president accused an ad campaign by the provincial government of Ontario, Canada, of misrepresenting Ronald Reagan’s speech on tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House on Oct. 7, 2025.Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
Jacki Thrapp
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Omid Ghoreishi
10/25/2025|Updated: 10/26/2025
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is hiking tariffs on Canada by 10 percent over the continuation of an anti-tariff ad by the provincial government of Ontario that Trump says misrepresents a speech by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on trade protectionism.
Trump terminated trade discussions with Canada on Oct. 23. In response, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Oct. 24 that he will pause the $75 million ad campaign, but only after the weekend’s World Series games.
“Canada was caught, red handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s Speech on Tariffs,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Oct. 25.
Trump said the ad campaign was aimed at interfering with the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court hearing on his administration’s tariffs.
“The sole purpose of this FRAUD was Canada’s hope that the United States Supreme Court will come to their ‘rescue’ on Tariffs that they have used for years to hurt the United States,” Trump wrote.
“Ronald Reagan LOVED Tariffs for purposes of National Security and the Economy, but Canada said he didn’t! Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD.”
Canadian imports to the United States are currently subject to 35 percent tariffs, with exemptions applied to products covered by the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement. Canadian products are also subject to sectoral tariffs, including those applied to steel, aluminum, copper, autos, and lumber.
Trump said in his Oct. 25 post that he is raising tariffs on Canada by 10 percent “over and above what [Canadians] are paying now.”
Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian minister responsible for U.S. trade, stressed that trade negotiations with the United States are a federal responsibility and that Ottawa stands “ready to build on the progress made in constructive discussions with American counterparts over the course of recent weeks.”
“We will remain focused on achieving results that benefit workers and families in both the United States and Canada, and that progress is best achieved through direct engagement with the U.S. administration—which is the responsibility of the federal government,” LeBlanc said late on Oct. 25.
Termination of Trade Talks
Trump said late on Oct. 23 that he is terminating trade negotiations with Canada over the ads, citing a statement by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute that said the ad is selectively using audio and video of Reagan, misrepresenting the president’s remarks.
“The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks,” the organization stated on Oct. 23.
Reagan’s radio address of April 25, 1987, which was used in Ontario’s ad campaign, does mention the value of free trade, but starts with the announcement of the imposition of tariffs on Japan.
“As perhaps you’ve heard, last week I placed new duties on some Japanese products in response to Japan’s inability to enforce their trade agreement with us on electronic devices called semiconductors,” Reagan said in his address.
Reagan’s speech also mentions Canada, saying he had relayed his message in favor of free trade to Canadian leaders.
“It was warmly received there,” he said. “Indeed, throughout the world there’s a growing realization that the way to prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist legislation and promoting fair and free competition.”
Pausing Ad on Oct. 27
Ford said on Oct. 24 that he discussed Trump’s termination of trade talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and that Ontario will pause the ad campaign as of Oct. 27, allowing it to continue during the weekend’s World Series games between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ford said the advertisement campaign was supposed to “initiate a conversation” about how tariffs affect workers and that he wanted to get “Reagan Republicans” to fight with “MAGA Republicans,” in reference to Trump’s Make America Great Again movement.
Also on Oct. 24, Ford released a joint video with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, making a wager over the World Series game between Toronto and Los Angeles while taking a shot at Trump’s tariffs.
In the video, Ford says he will send a can of “Ontario’s finest maple syrup” to Newsom if the Blue Jays win the World Series, and the California governor says he will send a bottle of “California’s championship-worthy wine” to the Ontario premier if the Dodgers win.
After making this last remark, Newsom asks whether Ford would put the wines on the shelves of Ontario’s liquor stores, which are provincially owned, to which Ford says, “I don’t think so, buddy; talk to your friend in the Oval Office,” a reference to Ontario’s decision to pull U.S. alcohol from the stores in response to Trump’s tariffs.
Newsom also speaks out against the tariffs in the video, saying he is looking forward to a “tariff-free friendship between Ontario and California.”
For his part, Carney said ahead of his trip to Asia on Oct. 24 that Canada is ready to resume trade discussions with the United States.
“A lot of progress has been made, and we stand ready to pick up on that progress and build on that progress when the Americans are ready to have those discussions,” Carney said.
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From The Epoch Times
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