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Trump threatens to increase tariffs on Canada for not pulling antitariff ad sooner

Published: 26 Oct. 2025, 12:46

In this photo, U.S. President Donald Trump greets Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney during a summit to support ending the more than two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal on Oct. 13 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. [AP/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10 percent because of an antitariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.

The ad used the words of former President Ronald Reagan to criticize U.S. tariffs, angering Trump, who said he would end trade talks with Canada. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would pull the ad after the weekend, and it ran on Friday night during the first game of the World Series.

“Their advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform as he flew aboard Air Force One to Malaysia.

“Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10 percent over and above what they are paying now.”

It is unclear what legal authority Trump would use to impose the additional import taxes. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on when the 10 percent hike would come into effect, as well as whether it would apply to all Canadian goods.

Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian minister responsible for trade issues with the United States, pointed out in a statement that the responsibility for negotiations rests with Canada’s federal government, not provincial leaders.

“Progress is best achieved through direct engagement with the U.S. administration,” he said.

Canada's economy has been hit hard by Trump's tariffs, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been trying to work with Trump to lower them. More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the United States, and nearly 3.6 billion Canadian dollars' ($2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border daily.

U.S. President Donald Trump, in front of a painting of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, attends an event to announce that the Space Force Command will move from Colorado to Alabama in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Sept. 2. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Spokespersons for Carney and Ford did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.

Many Canadian products have been hit with a 35 percent tariff, and steel and aluminum face rates of 50 percent. Energy products have a lower rate of 10 percent, and the vast majority of goods are covered by the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement and are exempt from tariffs. That trade agreement is slated for review. Trump negotiated the deal in his first term but has since soured on it.

Trump and Carney will both attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia. But Trump told reporters traveling with him that he had no intention of meeting Carney there.

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, as mentioned in his 1987 address featured in Ontario's ad against U.S. tariffs.

Trump has complained that the ad was aimed at influencing the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of arguments scheduled for next month, which could decide whether Trump has the power to impose his sweeping tariffs, a key part of his economic strategy. Lower courts ruled he had exceeded his authority.

AP