Doug Ford’s $75M anti-tariff ad BLOWS UP trade talks
Just days after a U.S.-Canada trade deal was rumoured to be within reach, Trump abruptly pulled the plug — furious over a Doug Ford–funded TV ad that used Ronald Reagan’s voice to attack tariffs.
A high-stakes trade deal between Canada and the United States has collapsed — and Ontario Premier Doug Ford is being blamed for it.
Just days after Prime Minister Mark Carney said a deal on steel and aluminum could be within reach, U.S. president Donald Trump abruptly ended talks, furious over a $75-million ad campaign launched by the Ford government.
The ad used Ronald Reagan’s voice to attack tariffs, but the Reagan Foundation accused Ontario of splicing old footage without permission. Trump blasted the campaign as “fraudulent” and accused Canada of trying to “illegally influence” U.S. courts — before announcing that all trade negotiations were “terminated.”
Carney dodged questions on Friday, while Ford doubled down, insisting the ad was “one of the best ever made” and pledging to air it during the World Series.
Political strategist Georgeann Burke tells Marc Patrone the ad “infuriated Trump” and could do lasting damage to Canada’s credibility in Washington. Meanwhile, Ottawa is said to be weighing retaliatory tariffs against General Motors and Stellantis, escalating what’s quickly become a political and economic mess.
As Burke puts it: “Doug Ford thought he was being clever. Instead, he blew up the deal.”
How many of these appalling stunts will the Ontario Conservative party tolerate before there’s a loud request for Dougie to step down as leader? I would have thought it would have happened before now but this SHOULD trigger a leadership recall.
He’s making a bad situation intolerably worse.
75 million. What a waste of tax payers money . Demand that ford pay this money back from his personal account! Ands fire him on the spot . Canadians are suffering enough already from the liberals corruption and incompetence! Over spending, money laundering scams . And now for a conservative to do this . Enough is enough!