U.S. President Donald Trump says he is raising tariffs on Canadian goods by 10 per cent, after accusing Canada of airing what he called a “fraudulent” advertisement that misrepresented former president Ronald Reagan’s stance on tariffs.
In a post published on Truth Social at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Trump wrote, “I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.”
Trump’s post cited his frustration over an advertisement produced by the Ontario government that used clips of Reagan warning about the dangers of protectionism and praising free trade.
“Canada was caught, red handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s Speech on Tariffs,” he wrote.
Earlier this week, Trump had cut off trade negotiations with Ottawa, explaining it was due to the “hostile” nature of the ad campaign.
“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 further said in the Truth social post.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded to the tariff announcement late Saturday afternoon, blaming Prime Minister Mark Carney’s handling of the situation.
Get daily National news
“If Mark Carney had kept his promise to ‘handle Trump,’ ‘negotiate a win,’ and get a deal by July 21st, we would not be facing today’s latest tariff hike,” Poilievre said in a statement. “The cost of the Prime Minister’s broken promises is higher U.S. tariffs and lost jobs.”
The new tariffs are expected to further strain Canada–U.S. trade relations and add fresh pressure on Ottawa to repair ties with Washington ahead of renewed negotiations.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Asia, trying to strengthen Canada’s position as reliable trade partners.
Comments