
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Oct. 31, 2025. Samuel Corum/Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump says Prime Minister Mark Carney apologized to him for the controversial anti-tariff advertisement put out by the Ontario government, but says he still has no plans to resume trade negotiations with Canada.
“No, but I have a very good relationship,” Trump told a reporter aboard Air Force One on Oct. 31 when asked about resuming negotiations with Carney. Trump added that the prime minister had “apologized for what they did with the commercial, because it was a false commercial.”
Trump cancelled trade negotiations with Canada on Oct. 23 because of a $75 million advertising campaign launched by the Ontario government that featured audio from former U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s 1987 address to the nation in which he spoke about the value of free trade, including with Canada.
Reagan announced at the start of the address his decision to impose tariffs on Japan, a part that was not included in Ontario’s ad. In that part of his speech, Reagan said these tariffs were “steps that I am loath to take,” and accused Japan of unfair trade practices involving semiconductors. He also said tariffs should not be used as a long-term strategy in place of a trade deal.
Trump announced on Oct. 23 that trade negotiations with Canada were “terminated” because of the ad campaign, which he said misrepresented Reagan’s stance on tariffs. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said a day later that, following discussions with the prime minister, he would pause the ad campaign on Oct. 27 so that trade talks could resume. But he said the ad campaign would continue during the weekend’s World Series games on Oct. 25 and 26.
Trump announced on Oct. 26 that he would raise tariffs on Canada by an additional 10 percent because Ford did not immediately pull the ads. The U.S. president said the advertisement was “fraudulent,” that Reagan “loved tariffs,” and that the ad was aimed at interfering with the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court hearing on tariffs.
Carney told reporters on Oct. 23 the federal government had chosen not to run anti-tariff advertisements in the United States, and that Ford “took a decision which is different than the Canadian government’s.” Ford said almost a week later that he was with Carney when he first watched the ad before its release.
The U.S. president also told reporters on Oct. 31 that he had a “great dinner” with Carney and other world leaders in South Korea on Oct. 29 ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Carney and Trump sat across from each other at the dinner hosted by South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung.
When Carney was asked by reporters if he had a message for Trump as he arrived at the dinner, Carney said he had a message to Lee: “I’m very happy to be here.” After the dinner, the prime minister said it was “very good” and that he and Trump had “a very good conversation.”
Matthew Horwood is a reporter based in Ottawa.
