Trump says Carney 'apologized' for Ontario's anti-tariff ad during Asia trip

OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump said that Prime Minister Mark Carney has “apologized” for the Ontario government’s anti-tariff television ad featuring Ronald Reagan that reportedly derailed trade talks between both countries.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday as he was heading back to the U.S., Trump was asked if he was going to resume negotiations with Canada and said “no.” The president however sung Carney’s praises, saying that they have a “very good relationship.”

“I like him a lot but what they did was wrong,” said Trump of Ontario’s commercial.

“(Carney) was very nice and he apologized for what they did with the commercial because it was a false commercial. It was the exact opposite: Ronald Reagan loved tariffs, and they tried to make it look the other way. And he did apologize and I appreciate it,” he said.

In fact, Reagan has a long record of hating tariffs , and Ontario merely used excerpts from one of his speeches to create an advertisement that has since been pulled from the air.

Some critics took issue with the advertisement for its lack of context around that 1987 speech, in which Reagan explained why he had recently imposed new duties on Japan. But overall, Ontario’s ad does not misrepresent the former president’s views on tariffs.

National Post has contacted the Prime Minister’s Office to ask about his apology to Trump but has not yet received a response. A spokesperson for the minister responsible for U.S.-Canada Trade, Dominic LeBlanc, declined to comment on Friday afternoon.

Carney is expected to hold a media availability in South Korea on Saturday.

Trump and Carney crossed paths at a dinner on Wednesday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-Operation (APEC) Summit. It was the first time that both leaders met in person following the breakdown of trade talks over Ontario’s anti-tariff television ad on Oct. 23.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford ultimately pulled the ad from the air on Monday, but it did nothing to mollify Trump who announced an additional 10 per cent tariff on Canada “over and above what they are paying now.” He has not said when it would come into effect.

Carney, who has been on a nine-day trip to Asia to diversify trade relationships, simply replied that Canada was prepared to resume negotiations with the U.S. anytime.

Ford said this week that Carney and his chief of staff had viewed the ad before it first aired and said he achieved his goal, which was to inform the American people about tariffs.

“As we say, mission accomplished… They’re talking about it in the U.S. and they weren’t talking about it before I put the ad on. So I’m glad Ronald Reagan was a free trader.”

Carney has not confirmed or denied Ford’s suggestion that he viewed the ad ahead of time, and is likely to be pressed on the issue when he addresses the press on Saturday.

National Post calevesque@postmedia.com

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