Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he will run anti-tariff commercials that enraged President Trump during the first two games of the World Series before pulling the ads Monday in hopes of restarting trade talks.
Mr. Ford, writing on X, said he used audio from a 1987 speech in which President Ronald Reagan generally opposed broad tariffs to stir a debate about “the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses.”
“We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels. I’ve directed my team to keep putting our message in front of Americans over the weekend so that we can air our commercial during the first two World Series games,” Mr. Ford wrote.
The World Series kicks off Friday night, pitting the Los Angeles Dodgers versus the Toronto Blue Jays, a source of pride for Canada.
The high-profile airing risks angering Mr. Trump further after he canceled U.S.-Canada trade talks over the commercials.
However, Mr. Ford offered an olive branch after speaking to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“Ontario will pause its U.S. advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume,” Mr. Ford wrote.
Mr. Trump objected to the ads as a form of foreign interference in a high-stakes Supreme Court battle over his use of a 1977 law to impose sweeping nation-by-nation tariffs, which are duties on imported goods.
The U.S. president imposed a blanket 35% tariff on many Canadian goods and high tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, cars and car parts — a move that impacts the Canadian economy.
Mr. Ford said he hoped the U.S. and Canada could forge a way forward.
“The people elected our government to protect Ontario—our workers, businesses, families and communities. That’s exactly what I’m doing,” he wrote. “Like I said earlier today: Canada and the U.S. are neighbours, friends and allies. We’re so much stronger when we work together.”
