Trump slams Canada for ‘dirty’ tactics despite Reagan ad withdrawal

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US President Donald Trump has accused Canada of playing “dirty” to Canada amid a growing controversy over an ad featuring former leader Ronald Reagan. It’s a dispute that has led Trump to cancel planned trade talks between the two countries.

The Canadian province of Ontario said it would pull an offensive anti-tariff ad on Monday after Trump accused the ad of misrepresenting the views of fellow Republican Reagan.

But Trump showed no sign of backing down, saying Ontario shouldn’t have let it air during the first two games of baseball’s World Series this weekend.

Adding extra spice to the lineup, the Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, face the American team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the World Series. The Blue Jays defeated the Dodgers 11-4 in the first game on Friday.

“Canada got caught in a trade scam, can you believe it?” Trump told reporters before leaving for a trip to Asia.

Trump added, “And I heard they were pulling the ad — I didn’t know they were putting it out a little bit more. They could have pulled it tonight.”

After a reporter said the ad would be pulled on Monday, Trump responded: “It’s a dirty game. But I can play a lot deeper than them.”

Trump announced on his Truth social network on Thursday that he called all negotiations with Canada a “fake” advertising campaign.

Less than 24 hours later, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was suspending the ads after speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about the sparring row with Washington.

“In conversation with Premier Carney, Ontario will pause its US advertising campaign on Monday so trade negotiations can resume,” Ford said in a post on X.

‘Crooked Advertising’

The Canadian ad used references to a radio address Reagan gave in 1987, in which he warned against rumors that he said high tariffs on foreign imports could hurt the U.S. economy.

He quotes Reagan as saying that “higher tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and trigger fierce trade wars,” a quote that matches a transcript of his speech on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library’s website.

The Ronald Reagan Foundation wrote on X Thursday that the Ontario government has used “selective audio and video” and is reviewing its legal options.

Trump said Friday night that it was a “crooked ad,” adding that “he knows Ronald Reagan loves rates.”

Both Trump and Carney are in South Korea on Wednesday for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) dinner.

But Trump said he had no plans to meet with Carney.

The latest twist in relations between the United States and Canada comes just two weeks after Carney visited Trump at the White House to seek an easing of tightening U.S. tariffs.

On Friday, Carney sought to calm the situation, saying his country was ready to resume “progress” on trade talks when the Americans were ready. “

Canada has to “focus on what we can control, and realize what we can’t control,” he added, turning to Asia.

Trump’s global sectoral tariffs — particularly on steel, aluminum and autos — have hit Canada hard, forcing job cuts and squeezing businesses.

For now, the United States and Canada adhere to an existing North American trade agreement called the USMCA, which ensures that about 85 percent of cross-border trade in both directions is tariff-free.

But in a speech on Wednesday, Carney said the United States had “raised rates to levels last seen during the Great Depression.”

Carney added that “our economic strategy needs to change dramatically,” a process that “will take some sacrifices and some time.”