Analysis
A $75-million Ontario commercial built around a selectively edited clip from former U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s 1987 trade speech hit American TV screens during the World Series.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government said the one-minute spot would “start a conversation” about tariffs; instead, it torpedoed already-delicate talks with Washington and triggered fresh threats of U.S. trade penalties.
The backlash has turned a flashy provincial ad buy into a full-blown diplomatic crisis—one that now jeopardizes Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s signature goal of sealing a new Canada–U.S. trade deal before year-end.
With U.S. President Donald Trump suspending negotiations and threatening an extra 10 percent tariff on Canadian imports, Ottawa must decide whether to disown Ontario’s message or make a bigger concession—perhaps even relaxing Canada’s tightly guarded supply-management system—to keep talks alive and shield billions in cross-border commerce….