U.S. President Donald Trump said Prime Minister Mark Carney apologized for an Ontario advertisement that criticized tariffs and reignited trade tensions between the two countries.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump described his conversation with Carney as friendly but said the ad was inappropriate and damaged efforts to reach a trade deal. He said he was not planning to reopen negotiations at this time.
The commercial, funded by the Ontario government, featured a 1987 speech by former U.S. president Ronald Reagan warning that tariffs “hurt every American.” The Reagan Presidential Foundation later said the province had not sought permission to use or edit the recording and would review its options.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford defended the campaign, saying it succeeded in drawing attention to trade issues and reached billions of viewers across U.S. media.
The dispute followed Trump’s decision to impose an additional 10 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, citing the advertisement as a hostile act.
Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the Ontario government has publicly confirmed details of the conversation between Trump and Carney.
