10 hours ago
5
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Doug Ford has built a reputation for picking fights with President Trump and getting under his skin with publicity-grabbing moves as U.S. tariffs have harmed Ontario’s economy.
Oct. 24, 2025Updated 3:19 p.m. ET
Captain Canada is back.
Premier Doug Ford of Ontario, a populist conservative who has earned the moniker for headline-grabbing moves that get under President Trump’s skin, pulled off another dramatic moment with an anti-tariff ad that used 1987 audio of Ronald Reagan denouncing tariffs as destructive.
Mr. Trump, in a late-night social media post Thursday, claimed the ad, which was paid for by the province of Ontario and has been broadcast since last week in the United States, was “fraudulent” and announced he was “terminating” trade talks with Canada.
The audio used in the ad was authentic and minor edits to the five-minute original Reagan radio address to fit the one-minute Ontario commercial did not alter the substance: Mr. Reagan vehemently opposed tariffs. The ad faithfully reproduced quotes from the address, in which Mr. Reagan was highly critical of the economic effect of tariffs. It just placed them in a different order.
In the address, Mr. Reagan argued that tariffs “hurt every American worker and consumer” over the long run, make companies less competitive, and trigger trade wars that cost Americans jobs.
On Friday morning, undeterred by Mr. Trump’s wrath, Mr. Ford doubled down: he posted the entire Reagan address, seemingly to push back against any claims that the ad had been fraudulent.
In his post Mr. Ford said, “Canada and the United States are friends, neighbors and allies. President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together.”
