“Canada is trying to illegally influence the United States Supreme Court in one of the most important rulings in the history of our Country.”
Trump is referring to an upcoming hearing in which the nation’s highest court will decide whether the bulk of his so-called reciprocal tariffs are legal. Lower courts have consistently found Trump lacked the authority to impose the sweeping tariffs using emergency powers, although the tariffs have been allowed to stand until the Supreme Court makes its decision.
The Ontario government’s advertisement used footage and audio from a 1987 address by then US president Ronald Reagan.
[Trump’s assertion that Reagan “loved tariffs” also stands in stark contrast to his previous remarks that Reagan – a Republican hero and free trade advocate – was a great president who was “very bad on trade”.]
Last week, Ford said the $75 million CAD ($82 million) ad campaign would be blasted into “every Republican district there is” across the US. That prompted senior Trump aide Dan Scavino, recently promoted to head of the Presidential Personnel Office, to accuse Canada of election interference.
“Make no mistake about it, Canada is openly interfering in US elections by targeting Republican districts,” he said. “Could you imagine if roles were reversed, and President Trump ran ads in Canada?”
On Saturday (AEDT), Ford reversed course after speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Seeking to avert a crisis, he said the ads would be paused from Monday, though not before airing during the baseball World Series this weekend.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, of the Progressive Conservative Party, has been Canada’s most prolific opponent of Trump’s tariffs.Credit: Bloomberg
“Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford said. “We’ve achieved our goal, having reached US audiences at the highest levels.”
Canada is seeking relief from US tariffs on steel, aluminium and vehicles, which it says have hurt the country’s economy. Leaving for the ASEAN and APEC summits on Friday (Saturday AEDT), Carney said negotiators had made significant progress and “we stand ready to pick up on that progress … when the Americans are ready to have those discussions”.
But Carney also indicated he was looking to permanently diversify Canada’s trading relationships with nations that were on the same page.
“We can’t control the trade policy of the United States. We recognise that that policy has fundamentally changed from the policy in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s,” he said.
Leaving for the ASEAN summit on Friday, Carney said he was looking to advance trade with Asia’s powerhouse economies.Credit: AP
“What we can control or at least heavily influence is developing new partnerships and opportunities, including with the economic giants of Asia, which is the focus of this trip.”
Trump was also due to leave for the ASEAN and APEC summits late on Friday night, Washington time. His trip is scheduled to include bilateral meetings with the leaders of Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping.
