Ford pausing U.S. tariff ad starting Monday, still airing during World Series Game 1 and 2

Premier Doug Ford said he will be pausing the U.S. ad on tariffs after U.S. President Donald Trump cut off trade talks with Canada because of the campaign.

In a statement released on Friday, Ford said after speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, he will pause the ad starting on Monday.

“Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses. We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels,” said Ford in the statement.

The ad will still air during the first two World Series games featuring the Toronto Blue Jays and the L.A. Dodgers, set for Friday and Saturday.

“Like I said earlier today: Canada and the U.S. are neighbours, friends and allies. We’re so much stronger when we work together. Let’s work together to build Fortress Am-Can and make our two countries stronger, more prosperous and more secure,” Ford continued.

Trump announced Thursday night he was ending all trade talks with Canada based on an anti-tariff ad the Ontario government was running featuring former U.S. President Ronald Reagan warning about the economic threats posed by tariffs.

The Ronald Reagan Foundation says it is also reviewing its legal options, noting that the ad “misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks.”

The Ford government spent $75 million on the ads, which began airing earlier this month on various news outlets in the United States, including Newsmax, Bloomberg, FOX, NBC, CBS and CNBC. They are originally scheduled to run until the end of January 2026.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith welcomed the move to pull the ads, saying she remains convinced that the route to resolving the trade war is through diplomacy.

“I am pleased to see Ontario’s ad campaign is being suspended and I once again urge the federal government to continue negotiating to resolve these tariff issues and restore a free and fair trade agreement with the United States,” Smith said in her post.

But Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said in a video message earlier in the day that Trump’s reaction showed the ad campaign is working, and he encouraged Ontario not to back down.

“If you throw a rock at a lake and you don’t hear a splash, you probably missed. So, to my good friend Doug Ford, keep the ads on TV. They’re effective and this country is behind you,” Kinew said.

Trump’s economic adviser Kevin Hassett, director of the U.S. National Economic Council, told reporters outside the White House Friday that Trump’s “frustration” with Canada has “built up over time” and the Canadians have been “very difficult to negotiate with.”

Hassett said that’s due to a “lack of flexibility” and “leftover behaviours from the (Justin) Trudeau folks.” He refused to comment on the ads and said he is not directly engaged in trade talks.

Carney met with Trump at the White House just a few weeks ago, and Canadian officials had signalled they were making progress on sector-specific deals.

The federal Conservatives made the collapse of talks the focus of question period in the House of Commons on Friday. They accused Carney of failing on the trade file after presenting himself in the spring election campaign as the best choice to resolve the trade war.

Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs told reporters on her way into question period that “Carney promised he’d be the guy to get a deal done” and Canadians should “hold him to account for that failure.”

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report