Pope laments dire US-Canada relations as Trump terminates trade talks over TV ad

Washington: Relations between the United States and Canada are sinking to new lows as US President Donald Trump abandons trade talks and accuses his northern neighbour of interfering in American democracy with a “fake” television commercial.

However, on Saturday (AEDT) Doug Ford, premier of the Canadian province of Ontario, which was behind the controversial campaign, said he would pull the ad from Monday so that trade talks could resume.

The stoush has even attracted the attention of Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope, who lamented during a meeting at the Vatican that the US and Canada were “experiencing great difficulties”.

“Two countries that were once considered the closest allies at times have become separated from one another,” Leo said after he was asked a question about church reform by a Canadian bishop.

The offending advertisement uses audio and footage of former Republican president Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs and trade barriers in 1987.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said it was reviewing its legal options over the ad because it used selective clips from the address and misrepresented Reagan’s message. Reagan was, in fact, explaining that he had slapped tariffs on Japan due to “unfair trade practices” from that country regarding semiconductors.

In a late-night social media most, Trump railed against the “FAKE” ad and said he was terminating all trade negotiations with Canada immediately.

“CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!” he added later. “They fraudulently took a big buy ad saying that Ronald Reagan did not like Tariffs, when actually he LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY.

“Canada is trying to illegally influence the United States Supreme Court in one of the most important rulings in the history of our Country.”

Trump is referring to an upcoming hearing in which the nation’s highest court will decide whether the bulk of his so-called reciprocal tariffs are legal. Lower courts have consistently found Trump lacked the authority to impose the sweeping tariffs using emergency powers, although the tariffs have been allowed to stand until the Supreme Court makes its decision.

(Trump’s assertion that Reagan “loved tariffs” also stands in stark contrast to his previous remarks that Reagan – a Republican hero and free trade advocate – was a great president who was “very bad on trade”.)

Last week, Ford said the $75 million CAD ($82 million) ad campaign would be blasted into “every Republican district there is” across the US. That prompted senior Trump aide Dan Scavino, recently promoted to head of the Presidential Personnel Office, to accuse Canada of election interference.

“Make no mistake about it, Canada is openly interfering in US elections by targeting Republican districts,” he said. “Could you imagine if roles were reversed, and President Trump ran ads in Canada?”

On Saturday (AEDT), Ford reversed course after speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Seeking to avert a crisis, he said the ads would be paused from Monday, though not before airing during the baseball World Series this weekend.

“Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford said. “We’ve achieved our goal, having reached US audiences at the highest levels.”

Canada is seeking relief from US tariffs on steel, aluminium and vehicles, which it says have hurt the country’s economy. Leaving for the ASEAN and APEC summits on Friday (Saturday AEDT), Carney said negotiators had made significant progress and “we stand ready to pick up on that progress … when the Americans are ready to have those discussions”.

But Carney also indicated he was looking to permanently diversify Canada’s trading relationships with nations that were on the same page.

“We can’t control the trade policy of the United States. We recognise that that policy has fundamentally changed from the policy in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s,” he said.

“What we can control or at least heavily influence is developing new partnerships and opportunities, including with the economic giants of Asia, which is the focus of this trip.”

Trump was also due to leave for the ASEAN and APEC summits late on Friday night, Washington time. His trip is scheduled to include bilateral meetings with the leaders of Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping.

With Reuters

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