The United States Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, on Sunday, November 2, compared a Canadian advertisement that used a speech by former US President Reagan to “election interference”. This Canadian advertisement airing in the United States has sparked anger from President Trump.
Bessent, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” program to host Jake Tapper, said, “I read that the Premier of Ontario spent 75 million Canadian dollars (about 54 million US dollars) to deliver promotional materials to the US border.”
Tapper interjected, “These are the words of Ronald Reagan himself.”
Bessent continued, “Through our airwaves, using our airwaves… this is akin to election interference. Nobody likes foreign interference in elections, and nobody likes foreign governments trying to influence public opinion for their own interests.”
The advertisement produced by the Canadian province of Ontario attempts to use Reagan’s critical words on tariffs to criticize the current White House tariff trade policy. The ad has been aired during the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Canada.
This ad has clearly angered President Trump. He announced on social media on October 27, an immediate halt to trade talks with Canada and announced an additional 10% tariff on Canada following the initial airing of the advertisement.
Trump stated that the ad takes Reagan’s words out of context, distorting his comments on tariff issues and reversing the order of his remarks.
Trump noted that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney should apologize for the ad.
A mayor in Ontario defended the money spent on producing and broadcasting the ad last week.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown supported the actions of the Premier, Doug Ford, who led the production of the ad. Brown stated on CBC’s “Rosemary Barton Live” on Sunday, “I support the Premier’s actions.”
He was referring to Ontario Premier Doug Ford. He said, “Sometimes you need to throw a stone in the pond to make a splash. It got a reaction.”
Ford himself has been critical of Trump’s tariff policy. Ontario, known for its steel industry, has been severely impacted by US tariffs. Ontario, with over a third of Canada’s population and home to the largest city in Canada, Toronto, is feeling the effects.
Over the past few months, President Trump’s new tariff policies have disrupted what he calls the “old international trade order that has been taking advantage of the US,” inevitably leading to a repositioning of economic and trade relations between the US and allies like Canada, and raising concerns about future economic uncertainty.