16 days from momentum to meltdown in Canada-US trade talks (Doug Ford's Reagan ad was only a pretext.)
Source: Politico
16 days from momentum to meltdown in Canada-US trade talks
Trump blamed the Reagan ad. Negotiations really fell apart over autos.
By Mickey Djuric
05/05/2026 05:55 AM EDT
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Trump blamed a C$75 million anti-tariff ad campaign launched by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, calling it “egregious” and “fake.” But interviews with officials on both sides of the border suggest the ad, which featured comments from Ronald Reagan, was just “a pretext.”
Behind the scenes, the North American auto sector was growing frustrated about being left out of the agreement. Tensions escalated after Carney’s Liberal government threatened Detroit automakers and raised the cost of importing vehicles into Canada, eroding the goodwill from that Oval Office meeting.
On that Oct. 7 trip to the White House, there was an expectation that Carney and Trump would strike a deal, one the president said Canadians would be “very happy” with.
Senior U.S. officials, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, attended and were visibly enthusiastic about part of the deal that would increase Canadian oil exports “a few more million barrels of oil a day to the United States,” Hoekstra said.
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Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/05/inside-collapse-canada-us-trade-deal-00905837