Chicago – November 02, 2025
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he apologized to President Donald Trump for an Ontario government ad that used Ronald Reagan’s words to criticize Trump’s trade policy.
“I did apologize,” Carney told reporters on Saturday after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea.
Trump “was offended” by the ad, he added, saying that the TV ad, which was not sponsored by the Canadian government, was “not something I would have done” and that he told Ontario Premier Doug Ford that he did not want him to use it.
The ad, which used clips of Reagan in order to criticize Trump’s trade policy, so angered Trump that last week he announced a halt to trade talks with Canada, one of America’s biggest trading partners.
He also accused Canada’s government — which did not sponsor the ad — of what he called “egregious behavior” that was intended to “interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts” on tariffs.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments next month in a case challenging many of Trump’s tariffs.
The president said Friday that Carney had apologized, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that he had a “very good relationship” with the leader, “but what he did was wrong.”
