Prime Minister Mark Carney reached out to Ontario Premier Doug Ford multiple times from Asia, urging him to retract an advertisement campaign that is being held responsible for halting trade negotiations with the United States, as stated by Ford on Monday. Carney expressed his view to Ford that the province should refrain from running the ad, which included clips of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.
In response to inquiries following this revelation, Ford declined to disclose specifics about their discussions but implied a disagreement with Carney’s account. He stated, “I recall our conversation differently.” President Donald Trump terminated trade discussions last month, attributing the breakdown to the TV advertisements. Although Ford eventually agreed to withdraw the ads, they continued airing for a few additional days, coinciding with the World Series games. This action led Trump to threaten a further 10% tariff on Canadian imports.
Ford confirmed that Carney, who was on an official visit to Asia, had persistently advised him to remove the ads. “He contacted me from Asia on multiple occasions and insisted on pulling the ad. I stood firm until we eventually paused the ad on Monday, as promised,” Ford elaborated. Despite the situation, Ford emphasized that he and Carney maintain a positive relationship.
Carney acknowledged that Trump took offense to the ad and personally apologized to the president without informing Ford in advance. The Prime Minister’s Office refrained from directly addressing Ford’s statements but highlighted the government’s commitment to engaging with the U.S. administration to secure a mutually beneficial deal for both countries.
Ford remained optimistic about the ad’s impact, attributing it to garnering approximately 12.4 billion views and asserting it as the most-watched ad globally. He credited the ad with influencing a U.S. Senate resolution against tariffs. The original ad campaign, initially budgeted at $75 million to run throughout the winter, has since been halted. The final cost to taxpayers following its discontinuation is yet to be determined.
Despite the ad’s removal, Canada-U.S. trade negotiations remain stalled, although the Canadian government has expressed readiness to resume discussions from where they left off.