The “tariff stick” from the United States has caused Canada to become angry again.
According to a report by The Associated Press on August 24, Doug Ford, the governor of Ontario, Canada, told The Associated Press that if the late former U.S. President Reagan had seen the current President Trump’s trade policies, he would have “thrown them out.” Ford also threatened that if the trade war between Canada and the United States worsens, Canada will cut off its electricity and key mineral supplies to the United States.
"If he (Reagan) knew what happened, he would spit it out at Trump from the portrait (throwing up)." Ford said. He pointed out that a portrait of Reagan was hung next to Trump's desk, and Reagan would feel "hatred" towards Trump as president.
Talks between the United States and Canada broke down last Friday evening. Starting from local time on the 22nd, the United States imposed a 50% tariff on Canadian goods worth $20 billion. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Canada's equivalent retaliatory tariffs will come into effect on September 8.
Ford states that "all options are on the table" after Carny withdrew from trade negotiations.
When talking about critical minerals, Ford said, "I will cut off supplies directly. You (the United States) should not get a single grain of sand from Ontario."
Ford also accused Trump of trying to hollow out the Canadian economy. “He wants to squeeze every industry dry and transfer them to the United States.”
Ontario is Canada's most economically and population-wise significant province, and it also has a high dependence on trade with the United States and its industries. Ford has always strongly criticized the US tariffs imposed on Canada.
In October last year, Ford released an advertising video on the X platform, which was excerpted from Ronald Reagan's broadcast speech in 1987.
In his speech, Reagan repeated his famous statement: "In the long run, such trade barriers will harm the interests of every American worker and consumer." "High tariffs will inevitably lead to retaliation from foreign countries and trigger intense trade wars."
Canadian media reports that this advertisement is part of an promotional campaign by the Ontario government, costing approximately $75 million.
Ford posted on social media at that time: "We will use all available tools to continuously condemn the tariffs imposed by the United States on Canada. Through joint efforts, we will achieve prosperity. Please watch our new advertisement."
This advertisement angered Trump, who accused Canada of “falsifying” Reagan’s speech in the advertisement, stating that Canada had “misled the public with edited audio and video”. He also described this as a form of “fraudulent behavior”. In response, the US imposed an additional 10% tariff on Canada. Subsequently, Canada suspended the broadcast of the advertisement.
