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Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters he had advised Ontario Premier Doug Ford not to broadcast the anti-tariff ad.Liam Richards/The Canadian Press
Doug Ford says Prime Minister Mark Carney twice asked him to pull an anti-tariff television advertisement after it prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to break off trade talks, but the Ontario Premier said he declined.
Mr. Ford on Monday said the Prime Minister called him from his recent trip to Asia asking him to pull the ad, which featured a pro-free-trade address from then-president Ronald Reagan, but the Premier did not do so until days later after it had run during the first two games of the World Series.
He made the comments the same day that B.C. Premier David Eby announced that his government had decided to scrap a plan to run its own ads targetting Mr. Trump’s tariffs, in part because the advertisements had become a “source of anxiety” for the federal government.
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Mr. Ford added that he would “never apologize” to Mr. Trump, as Mr. Carney did during his recent trip to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr. Ford addressed for the first time Mr. Carney’s contention that he told the Premier not to run the ad critical of Mr. Trump’s tariffs, which resulted in the U.S. President cancelling trade talks and threatening higher levies on Canada.
“I had a different … recollection of our conversation,” Mr. Ford said, declining to provide specifics.
“I’ll tell you one thing, what he did do, he called me from Asia a couple times and said, ‘Pull the ad.’ And I said I wasn’t going to do it, until we’re going to pause the ad on Monday. And that’s exactly what we did.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he told Mr. Ford not to run the anti-tariff TV ad in the U.S.
The Canadian Press
The U.S. President broke off trade talks with Canada on Oct. 23, citing the Ontario government TV ad. After it aired during Game 1 of the World Series, Mr. Trump announced that he would boost tariffs on Canadian imports by another 10 per cent. The Ontario government pulled the ad last Monday, after it aired during Game 2 of the World Series.
“President Trump wanted me to pull it one day, and I took three more days, and we paused it to get back to the table. It was very, very effective,” Mr. Ford said.
The Prime Minister’s Office said Mr. Carney had nothing more to say about his conversation with Mr. Ford.
In B.C., Mr. Eby said Monday that his province is holding off on its plan to release anti-tariff ads next month because they have decided to work with the federal government on the issue.
“On the advertisements, we have committed to the federal government that when the time comes to be speaking directly to Americans, we will do it in partnership with them. We will not be running the ads by ourselves,” Mr. Eby told a news conference in Vancouver at the end of a meeting on softwood lumber with federal cabinet ministers.
Mr. Eby said Dominic LeBlanc, the Intergovernmental Affairs Minister who was at the summit, did not have to ask B.C. to pause the ads.
“I knew this was a source of anxiety for many people, including potentially the federal government, given the reaction to the Ontario tariffs,” the B.C. Premier said.
The new digital ad campaign by the B.C. government had been slated to start running this month in the United States, focusing on increased costs of softwood lumber for American home construction and renovation projects. The ads also were designed to highlight how Canada faces much higher import taxes on lumber compared with Russia.
B.C. Premier David Eby says plans for anti-tariff ads in the U.S. are on pause after a summit with federal officials.
The Canadian Press
Mr. Eby said B.C.’s goal now is to work in partnership with the federal government on communications strategy in future.
The U.S. has levied countervailing duties in retaliation for what it deems to be unfair provincial subsidies produced by the stumpage system in a dispute that dates back to the 1980s. In addition, anti-dumping duties are being imposed in response to Canadian lumber allegedly sold at below-market value.
The last time Canada and the U.S. reached an agreement on softwood trade was in 2006. That deal expired in October, 2015, with no replacement.
Despite Ontario’s decision to drop its anti-tariff ads and Mr. Carney’s apology, Mr. Trump has said he will not resume trade talks with Canada.
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Mr. Ford, who said he continues to have a “great relationship” with Mr. Carney, said he wasn’t angry at the Prime Minister for asking him to pull the ads. He said he communicated with Mr. Carney by text message on Monday, and he’s asked the Prime Minister to focus his negotiations on the auto sector.
“I fully understand the position he’s in. He’s trying to talk to the President, but the President was going to give us a terrible deal, like they gave the U.K., a terrible deal, gave Japan even a worse deal, in my opinion,” Mr. Ford said.
“I always say no deal is better than a bad deal, and that’s what President Trump wants.”
The 60-second TV spot used archival footage of Mr. Reagan decrying American protectionism, saying such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer.
Mr. Trump has not yet issued any executive order to enforce the threatened 10-per-cent hike. It’s not clear if this new levy would apply to all Canadian imports or a selection of them. And he has announced no date for this increase.
With a report from Ian Bailey
