TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he told Ontario’s premier not to run an anti-tariff advertisement that prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to end trade talks with Canada.
Carney also confirmed that he apologized to the president during a dinner at the the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit because Trump was “offended.”
Ontario’s television advertisement that aired in in the U.S. criticizes Trump’s tariffs by citing a speech from former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
The ad upset Trump, who ended trade talks with Canada and said he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10%.
When asked on Saturday what Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s response was to being asked not to run the ad, Carney said, “Well, you saw what came of it. It’s not something I would have done.”
Ford is a populist Conservative while Carney is a Liberal. As premier, Ford is the equivalent of a U.S. governor.
“I’m the one who is responsible, in my role as prime minister, for the relationship with the president of the U.S., and the federal government is responsible for the foreign relationship with the U.S. government,” added at a news conference as he wrapped a nine-day trip to Asia.
A spokesperson for Ford didn’t immediately respond when asked if Carney told Ford not to run the ad.
Ford previously said Carney and Carney’s chief of staff watched the ad before it was released.
Ford pulled the ad last Monday but allowed it to be shown in the first two games of the baseball World Series.
Trump said the ad misrepresented the position of Reagan, a two-term president and a beloved figure in the Republican Party. But Reagan was wary of tariffs and used much of the 1987 address featured in Ontario’s ad spelling out the case against them.
Trump has complained the ad was aimed at influencing the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of arguments scheduled this month that could decide whether Trump has the power to impose his sweeping tariffs, a key part of his economic strategy. Lower courts had ruled he had exceeded his authority.
Carney met with Trump at the White House last month and has been trying to secure a trade deal to lower some tariffs on sectors like steel and aluminum. Tariffs are taking a toll in the aluminum, steel, auto and lumber sectors.
More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the U.S., and nearly 3.6 billion Canadian dollars ($2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border daily.
Carney said Canada has to transform away from reliance on a single trade partner. He said his next move will be the federal budget on Nov. 4 when he will introduce measures to protect and diversify the economy.
