Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he will suspend his government’s anti-tariff advertising campaign in the United States after the controversial spot prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to abruptly end trade talks with Canada.

Ford, one of the most outspoken critics of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, said he made the decision after speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday. The ads will stop running Monday—after airing through the weekend during Major League Baseball’s World Series broadcasts.

“We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels,” Ford said, emphasizing that the campaign’s purpose was to “start a conversation about the kind of economy Americans want to build.”

Trump’s Backlash and Reagan Foundation Pushback

The TV ad, funded by the Ontario government, featured clips of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan warning that tariffs “hurt every American.” But the Ronald Reagan Foundation quickly condemned the ad, accusing Ford’s team of using “selective” excerpts from Reagan’s 1987 address without permission and misrepresenting his message.

Late Thursday, Trump slammed the spot on Truth Social, calling it “FAKE” and “egregious” before declaring that trade negotiations with Canada were “HEREBY TERMINATED.”

Tensions Over Tariffs and Tactics

The U.S. currently imposes a 35% levy on Canadian goods, with additional sector-specific tariffs—50% on metals and 25% on automobiles—hitting Ontario particularly hard. Ford has positioned himself as a defender of the province’s manufacturing sector, taking a more confrontational tone than Ottawa.

Last week, he criticized Stellantis’s decision to move production from its Brampton, Ontario, plant to the U.S., saying he was “sick and tired of sitting and rolling over.” Days later, he launched the ad campaign that drew the White House’s ire.

Prime Minister Carney, by contrast, has favored a more diplomatic approach—emphasizing quiet negotiations and direct engagement with Trump. “Canada is prepared to resume trade talks when the Americans are ready,” Carney told reporters Friday.

Experts Warn of “Unnecessary Distraction”

Mahmood Nanji, a former Ontario finance official and fellow at Western University’s Ivey Business School, said Trump’s reaction was “unsurprising,” describing his posts as “full of theatrics and hyperbole.”

While Ford’s defiance may resonate with voters frustrated by tariffs, Nanji said the ad’s tone and timing created “an unnecessary distraction” for Canada’s negotiating team. “This isn’t helping Canada’s case,” he added.

What’s Next for Canada-U.S. Relations

It remains unclear whether trade talks will resume now that Ford has pulled the ad. The White House said Friday that Canada’s “longstanding, unfair trade barriers” remain a concern and that “constructive progress” has been elusive.

Carney, who has already dropped Canada’s digital services tax and rolled back retaliatory tariffs to ease tensions, will head to Asia this weekend for the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur. He said his focus there will be “developing new partnerships and opportunities,” but he also left the door open to future discussions with Washington.

As Nanji noted, Carney has recently cautioned that “the U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade,” warning that Canada must diversify and “take care of ourselves because we can’t rely on one foreign partner.”

For now, Ford’s pause may ease tensions—but it also underscores just how fragile the path to a new Canada-U.S. trade deal remains.