The Topline
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford made no apologies for his recent ad campaign that angered Donald Trump, sparking debate whether it helped or hurt the tariff situation with the U.S
- The $75 million campaign targeted U.S. households and uses excerpts from a 1987 speech by Ronald Reagan to suggest tariffs are bad for Americans
- U.S. President Donald Trump responded to the ad with an announcement that all trade talks with Canada were terminated, later triggering an apology to Trump from Prime Minister Mark Carney
Mission accomplished
The $75 million campaign launched October 14th and uses audio of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan speaking in 1987 about tariffs, saying they do not work in the long term.
"High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industry shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs,” Reagan said. The ad ends with an image of a retro television showing Reagan reading the speech into a microphone.
Airing on major networks and during the World Series, it didn’t take long for Trump to react . And while Trump was less than pleased, polls suggest many Ontarians approved of the move.
For his part, Ford has no regrets.
“We achieved our goal. As we say, ‘mission accomplished,’” Ford told reporters last Monday. “They’re talking about it in the U.S., and they weren’t talking about it before I put the ad on. I’m glad that Ronald Reagan was a free trader.”
"President Trump wants to attack our country, but I'm never going to take a back seat to President Trump," Ford also said to the Ontario legislature.
Let's not forget the job of an elected official is to speak up on behalf of their citizens. That’s exactly what Ford is doing. He’s not sitting around while Trump’s trade war dismantles Ontario’s economy.
Not just Ford, but every Premier in Canada needs to show they are defending their respective interests.
And if the goal of an advertising campaign is to get noticed, this one hits the mark. Doug Ford is just doing his job.
A swing and a miss
Prime Minister Carney appears to be taking a kill-him-with-kindness approach to President Trump. If that means paying a few compliments while playing the long game, so be it. And, up until last week, it seemed to be working.
Carney’s latest visit to the White House seemed positive. The Globe and Mail reported a trade deal on steel, aluminum and energy was close.
But then, Ontario Premier Doug Ford comes along and says “hold my beer” before launching his ads.
The result? Trump declared “based on their egregious behaviour, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”
Carney later went public that he objected to the campaign: “Well, you saw what came of it. It’s not something I would have done,” he told reporters. That’s a clear signal that the initiative did not align with the federal strategy.
There is a method to Carney’s madness. He is strategically chumming up to Trump, slowly earning his respect, and understands the bigger picture here: The U.S. holds all the cards when it comes to economic influence on Canada. Trump is a loose cannon. Carney needs to handle things with white gloves.
If Canada wants to survive the upcoming trade talks with the least amount of damage, the provinces and Ottawa need to be on the same page. Otherwise, not only do we look silly, but what little leverage we do have is compromised.
Ford spent $75 million and accomplished nothing except undermining Canada’s federal government, while flushing any goodwill Ottawa had built with Washington right down the toilet. Way to go.
