Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney apology to Trump over anti-tariff ad
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has officially apologised to U.S. President Donald Trump for a political advertisement produced in Canada’s Ontario province that criticised U.S. tariffs. The commercial in question, commissioned by the Ontario government under Premier Doug Ford, featured a clip of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan warning that tariffs hurt American workers and trigger trade wars.
Carney said he had reviewed the advertisement with Ford before it aired and explicitly told the premier that he did not want it to proceed. He confirmed that he made a private apology to Trump during a dinner at a summit in South Korea, saying: “I did apologise to the president.”
The fallout from the ad has been significant. President Trump responded by halting trade talks with Canada and announcing an additional 10 percent tariff on Canadian imports. He had called the advertisement “fake” and said it misrepresented Reagan’s position on tariffs.
Carney emphasised that in his role as prime minister he is responsible for the relationship with the United States, and he sought to clarify that trade and foreign-policy relations are federal responsibilities not provincial. He said the incident shows how sensitive trade diplomacy has become and that Canada stands ready to resume talks whenever the U.S. is prepared.
The matter underscores the complex interplay between domestic political messaging and international diplomacy. While the ad was a domestic-provincial initiative aimed at raising awareness of how Canadian industries are affected by U.S. tariffs, it triggered a strong reaction from the U.S. government. Canada’s reliance on the U.S. market (with over three-quarters of Canadian exports heading there) makes such diplomatic missteps all the more consequential.
