Trump punishes Canada with 10 per cent extra import tax for anti-tariffs ad

by Mark Schiefelbein

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10 per cent because of an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.

The ad used the words of former President Ronald Reagan to criticize U.S. tariffs, angering Trump who said he would end trade talks with Canada. Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford said he would pull the ad after the weekend, and it ran during the first game of the World Series.

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Trump said he should have pulled it sooner.

Trump posted the news on his Truth Social platform as he flew aboard Air Force One to Malaysia, heading to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, known as ASEAN.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is also there, pitching Canada as a reliable partner for Southeast Asia and seeking to drum up investment into Canada that will help achieve the nation-building plans that formed a central plank of the Liberals’ election platform.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Friday he decided to pull the plug on the campaign after speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

But Ford also said he’ll only stop running the ads after the weekend, so they can play throughout the first two World Series games and get in front of a massive American audience.

“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. We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels,” Ford said in a media statement Friday.

“Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD,” Trump said in the post on his Truth Social platform as he flew aboard Air Force One to Malaysia.

“Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.”

It was unclear what legal authority Trump would use to impose the additional import taxes. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when the 10 per cent hike would come into effect, and whether it would apply to all Canadian goods.

A spokesperson for Carney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

— with files from Canadian Press

Read more:

• Canadian officials likely caught ‘off-guard’ after Trump ends trade talks over ad
• Has business in Canada tuned out Trump’s temper tantrums?
• Tariffs & Saskatchewan: What do tariffs mean for you?