TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford has no regrets about being a pain to the Trump administration.
“We achieved our goal. As we say, ‘mission accomplished,’” Ford told reporters at the Ontario legislature in Toronto on Monday. “They’re talking about it in the U.S., and they weren’t talking about it before I put the ad on. I’m glad that Ronald Reagan was a free trader.”
Ford, Canada’s most successful populist politician, has stolen the spotlight from Prime Minister Mark Carney as the country’s most outspoken crusader against President Donald Trump’s trade war.
“I spoke to every single premier — they’re on side,” Ford said about reactions he’s received to the ad. “Their exact words … ‘Don’t stop. Keep fighting for Canada.’”
Trump abruptly terminated trade talks with Canada on Thursday night over an ad paid for by Ford’s government that used excerpts from a 1987 radio address by Reagan in an effort to sway public opinion on tariffs in Republican-held districts. The ad, Trump claimed, was intended to interfere in the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling on whether the president can unilaterally impose tariffs.
The 60-second spot, which Ford said was shown to Carney before it aired in the U.S., appears to have damaged a budding relationship between the president and prime minister.
Carney was warmly welcomed to the White House by Trump weeks ago, but told reporters in Kuala Lumpur he hasn’t been in contact with the president since trade talks were put on ice.
Trump said Monday that he has no intention of meeting with the prime minister “for a long time.” Carney downplayed frayed relations, repeating a message he’d been sharing since Friday that his door is always open when the U.S. wants to restart talks.
“Considerable progress” had been made on reaching sectoral tariff deals on steel, aluminum and energy, he said. Talks had progressed to the point the two sides were exchanging term sheets. “We’ve made significant progress,” Carney said. “We stand by the progress that we had made.”
Ford is a known irritant to the Trump administration after he ordered American alcohol pulled off the shelves of Ontario’s government-regulated liquor stores earlier this year until a U.S. trade deal is reached. He also threatened a surcharge on U.S. electricity exports, which he backpedaled on after it incensed U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
But from Ford’s perspective, federal Cabinet ministers weren’t prioritizing the 25 percent tariff faced by Ontario’s automotive industry enough in their talks with the Trump administration.
An official with the Ontario government told POLITICO that Carney and Ford connected on Thursday evening after Trump called off talks, then picked up their conversation on Friday.
Carney, according to the official, wanted the ads yanked, to allow for talks to resume.
“That’s when our team worked with the premier, decided we would run it over the weekend, and make sure there’s space to get the message in front of Americans and take advantage of the two ad plays,” said the official, who was granted anonymity to speak on sensitive issues.
The fact Ford delayed pulling the ad to Monday to allow the ad to air during the first two World Series games irritated Trump. He called the move a “hostile act” and responded by announcing plans to raise tariffs on Canada by an additional 10 percent over the weekend.
The White House has yet to release official details surrounding the tariff hike, including what legal mechanisms would be used — and when it would come into force.
The Ontario government official said Ford and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz texted about the ad over the weekend — and that the premier shared it with other Democratic state leaders, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
“We’re thrilled with the outcome, notwithstanding no one is happy the talks ended,” said the official.
Mickey Djuric contributed to this report from Ottawa.
