Carney says he told Ontario premier not to run anti-tariff ad, apologized to Trump

GYEONGJU – Prime Minister Mark Carney says he told Ontario Premier Doug Ford that he didn’t think the province should run the ad campaign that’s being blamed for ending trade talks with the U.S. 

When asked on Saturday what Ford’s response to that was, Carney said, “Well, you saw what came of it.”

The prime minister also confirmed he did apologize to U.S. President Donald Trump because Trump was “offended” by the ad. 

“I’m the one who is responsible, in my role as prime minister, for the relationship with the president of the U.S., and the federal government is responsible for the foreign relationship with the U.S. government,” Carney said at a press conference as he wrapped a nine-day trip to Asia. 

The apology happened at a dinner on Wednesday hosted by the South Korean president at the start of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju. 

Trump cut off trade talks late last week, citing his frustration over the anti-tariff TV ad campaign the Ontario government was running in American markets. 

The spot featured a 1987 radio address of the late U.S. president Ronald Reagan railing against tariffs.

Trump at first appeared unbothered by it, telling reporters on Oct. 21 that “if I was Canada I’d take that same ad also.”

He changed his tune a few days later, posting about Canada’s “egregious behaviour” on social media and declaring an end to trade talks. 

Trump claims the ad was “false” and that Reagan loved tariffs. Multiple analyses of the advertisement have said it accurately reflected Reagan’s criticism of tariffs. 

The president has also threatened to add another 10 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, although he has provided no details about what that means or when it could come into effect.

On Friday, he told reporters on Air Force One that he has a very good relationship with Carney. 

“I like (Carney) a lot, but you know, what they did was wrong,” Trump said. 

Carney characterized last week’s events as “noise,” saying that despite everything that has happened, Canada still has the best trade deal with the U.S. of any country. The vast majority of Canada-U.S. trade is exempted from tariffs because it falls under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade. 

“We can spend our time watching Truth Social, worrying about the reactions (to) individual things. We are staying calm,” Carney said.

Trade talks have not resumed, though the Canadian government has said it is ready to pick back up where it left off. 

“We’ll wait until they’re ready,” Carney said.

Specific sectors like steel, aluminum, autos and lumber are subject to additional tariffs — and that is what the Canadian side had been working to negotiate before the ad campaign began. 

Ford has been unapologetic about the ads and has said they were a success, given how widely they were viewed. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2025.

— With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington and Kyle Duggan in Ottawa