How it started, how it ended: A chronology of Ontario’s ad blitz against U.S. tariffs
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OTTAWA – Here is a day-by-day chronology of the controversy over Ontario’s advertising campaign against U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods:
Tues., Oct. 14: The office of Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province will spend $75 million to broadcast an anti-tariff ad in the United States using video of an address by former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who said in 1987 that in the long run, “such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer.”
Tues., Oct. 21: A day after the ad airs during a broadcast of a baseball playoff game won by the Toronto Blue Jays, U.S. President Donald Trump says he saw the commercial, adding “if I was Canada I’d take that same ad also.”
Thu., Oct. 23: The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute says the ad misrepresents Reagan’s remarks and that Ontario did not seek or receive permission to “use and edit the remarks.”
Trump says he is ending trade negotiations with Canada over the commercial.
The ad isn’t a “fake” as Trump claims, but Reagan’s quotes are spliced together from different sections of the original speech.
Ford’s office defends the ad.
Fri., Oct. 24: Trump accuses Canada of “cheating” by saying that Reagan did not like tariffs, which Trump claims the late president “loved.”
David McLaughlin and Geoff Norquay, who worked as senior policy advisers for former prime minister Brian Mulroney, say the ad did not misconstrue Reagan’s views on trade.
Ford says his government will pull the ad after the weekend, though it’s still set to run during the first two games of the World Series.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew encourages Ford to keep the ad campaign going, saying Trump’s tariffs betray Reagan’s legacy.
Sat., Oct. 25: Trump says the U.S. will impose an additional 10 per cent tariff on Canadian goods because Ontario didn’t immediately pull down the ad.
Mon., Oct. 27: Ford vows he will “never apologize” for pushing back against hostile trade measures designed to poach jobs from his province.
Fri., Oct. 31: Trump says Prime Minister Mark Carney apologized for the ad but the U.S. president adds that trade talks are not resuming.
Sat., Nov. 1: Carney confirms he apologized to Trump and says he told Ford he didn’t think the province should run the ad campaign.
Sun., Nov. 2: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the ad amounted to foreign interference in American public policy.
Mon., Nov. 3: Ford says Carney called him “a couple of times” from a trip to Asia to ask him to pull the ad campaign.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2025.