President Donald Trump said on Saturday he is adding an extra 10% tariff on imports from Canada. He said the move is a response to a TV ad that used a Ronald Reagan speech in what he called a misleading way.
Trump posted on Truth Social, “Canada was caught, red handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement in Ronald Reagan’s Speech on Tariffs.” He said Canada “misrepresented the facts” and called the ad a “hostile act.”
Canada already faces a 35% tariff on most goods sold in the U.S., with exceptions under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Items like steel and aluminum are already taxed at 50%.
He said the extra tariff comes “over and above what they are paying now.” The announcement came before he left the White House to fly to Asia. He said Ontario should have taken down the ad immediately instead of waiting.
“They could have pulled it tonight,” he said. “Well, that’s dirty play. But I can play dirtier than they can, you know.” He had already stopped trade talks with Canada on Thursday, linking that decision to the same ad.
Ontario keeps ad on air during World Series broadcast
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday that the ad would be paused on Monday to allow talks to restart. But he also said, “I’ve directed my team to keep putting our message in front of Americans over the weekend so that we can air our commercial during the first two World Series games.”
The first game aired Friday night, and the ad was shown during a broadcast watched by millions. The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-4 in that game. Toronto is in Ontario, and it is Ford’s hometown.
Ford said earlier in the day, “Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses.” He said the goal had already been achieved because the message reached U.S. audiences “at the highest levels.”
He added that after speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ontario would pause its U.S. advertising campaign starting Monday.
The province had already said it would spend $75 million to run that ad in the United States and planned to target “every Republican district in the entire country.”
Reagan Foundation objects to edited speech
Trade talks were halted after The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said the ad misrepresented the original April 25, 1987 radio address. They said parts were taken out, and permission was not given.
The foundation posted the full video online and told viewers to watch it themselves. Ford responded by posting the same full video link.
In that speech, Reagan talked about new tariffs placed on Japanese products because Japan did not enforce terms of a trade deal over semiconductor devices. That context was not included in Ontario’s ad.
The ad did show Reagan saying, “Over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer.” It also showed him saying that tariffs may look patriotic and work for a short time, but “only for a short time.”
Reagan also said, “High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars.” Ford has called himself a “big Ronald Reagan fan” since first posting the ad on October 16.
The issue has also reached the Supreme Court. The Court is expected to hear arguments in early November on whether Trump had authority to impose wide tariffs on many countries, including Canada, without Congress.
This case could decide how much tariff power a president holds. The new 10% increase lands right before that ruling, setting the stage for another major fight.
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