Well, so much for “friendly neighbors.” President Trump just pulled the plug on all trade negotiations with Canada, and not for some minor squabble over maple syrup or hockey. No, this time it’s because the government of Ontario thought it would be a brilliant idea to hijack Ronald Reagan’s voice, chop it up like a bad remix, and blast out a $75 million ad campaign slamming Trump’s tariffs — all while the Supreme Court is literally days away from hearing arguments on the issue. Yeah, nothing shady about that.
The Government of Ontario just spent $75 million on a pro-trade/anti-tariff ad starring… Ronald Reagan. pic.twitter.com/uD5wJgZEzv
— Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) October 15, 2025
Here’s what happened: Ontario ran an ad using a selectively edited clip from one of Reagan’s old radio addresses, making it sound like he was denouncing tariffs in general. Problem is, they didn’t ask anyone for permission to use Reagan’s words, let alone distort them into an attack on Trump. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation was not amused. They called the ad “fake,” said it misrepresents the actual content of Reagan’s remarks, and they’re now weighing legal action. In other words, Ontario’s little stunt might end up costing them more than $75 million if they get hauled into court.
Listen to President Reagan's unedited remarks here: https://t.co/1gQUcbR4eZ pic.twitter.com/iqmjSuypp0
— Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute (@RonaldReagan) October 24, 2025
Trump responded on Truth Social with that classic, straight-shooting energy we’ve come to expect. He called the ad “fraudulent,” accused the Canadian province of interfering with the U.S. Supreme Court, and made it crystal clear: trade talks are done. “ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” he wrote. No backdoor diplomacy, no sugarcoated language, just full-stop. Honestly, it’s refreshing to see a president treat our sovereignty and legal process like it actually matters.
And let’s not gloss over this: the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Trump’s tariffs on November 5. A lower court tried to kneecap his trade strategy by ruling the tariffs illegal, and now Ontario swoops in with a manipulated Reagan clip just in time to influence the outcome. That’s not an ad campaign, that’s foreign interference. But of course, don’t expect the media to hyperventilate over this the way they do every time someone sneezes in Moscow.
At the heart of this is something bigger: President Trump has always said tariffs are about more than economics. They’re about national security, about protecting American jobs, and about keeping foreign governments from calling the shots in our trade policies.
So now, the ball’s in Canada’s court. They played dirty, and Trump didn’t flinch. If Ontario wanted a trade war, they might’ve just gotten one and this time, no amount of edited Reagan quotes will bail them out.
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