Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday that his country remains ready to resume trade negotiations with the United States whenever Washington is willing, after President Donald Trump abruptly terminated talks over a political advertisement aired by the province of Ontario.
“My colleagues have been working with their American colleagues on detailed constructive negotiations, discussions on specific sectors — steel, aluminum and energy,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa before departing for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for his first official visit to Asia. “We stand ready to pick up on that progress.”
Carney added that Canada could not control the course of U.S. trade policy but would continue to pursue “new partnerships and opportunities, including with the economic giants of Asia,” signaling a shift in focus toward strengthening ties in the Indo-Pacific region.
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The rift began when Ontario aired an ad in U.S. markets featuring former Republican President Ronald Reagan warning that tariffs spark trade wars and lead to economic disasters. The commercial, which ran during the Major League Baseball playoffs, angered Trump, who on Thursday declared that “trade talks with Canada are over.” The U.S. president accused Ottawa of attempting to influence the Supreme Court as it prepares to rule on his global tariff agenda.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Friday that the president’s frustration with Canada “has built up over time.” He told reporters that “the Canadians have been very difficult to negotiate with,” blaming a “lack of flexibility” for the breakdown in discussions.
“The fact is that the negotiations with the Canadians have not been very collegial,” Hassett told Fox News. “They’ve not been going well. I think the president’s very frustrated. He wants a great deal with Canada, just like he wants a great deal with Mexico.”
Carney’s government had earlier removed most of the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports that were imposed by his predecessor, signaling an effort to ease tensions and rebuild trust with Washington. The two sides had been working on a framework covering the steel and aluminum sectors before the talks were suspended.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford later said he would pause the controversial ads after the weekend “so that trade talks can resume.” Ford said he spoke with Carney before making the decision.
“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 U.S. audiences at the highest levels.”
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute had earlier criticized Ontario’s use of Reagan’s 1987 radio address, saying the ad “misrepresents his speech” and was edited without permission.
While Carney reiterated that Canada remains committed to “constructive and fair” trade relations with the United States, analysts say his handling of Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy has exposed Ottawa’s lack of a clear long-term approach. Some economists argue that Canada has been too reactive — alternating between conciliatory and confrontational tactics — instead of developing a coherent counter-strategy.
Mexico, meanwhile, has quietly taken a different route. Several trade watchers describe the Mexican government’s stance as a “rope-a-dope” strategy: avoiding direct confrontation with Washington while absorbing short-term pressure to survive the next four years of Trump’s presidency. The approach appears to be working. Mexico’s tariffs, which were originally expected to take effect alongside Canada’s, have been postponed following a series of low-profile backchannel negotiations.
Canada, by contrast, has a prime minister determined to project toughness in the face of Trump’s populist economic nationalism. Twice now, Carney has had to retreat after direct showdowns with Washington — the latest being the Ontario ad controversy, which forced him to pull back and reaffirm his commitment to dialogue.
Critics say that while Carney’s instinct to stand firm is politically understandable, it risks playing directly into Trump’s narrative of dominance over America’s trading partners. The U.S. president’s rhetoric — including past suggestions that Canada should become a “State” — has been widely condemned by trade experts as an affront to national sovereignty.
The standoff now leaves one of the world’s most integrated economic relationships at a crossroads. Trade between the two nations exceeds $900 billion annually, supporting millions of jobs on both sides of the border. But the personal and political friction between the two leaders threatens to undermine that stability.