Business sector not sounding alarm after Trump ends trade talks over ad campaign

OTTAWA – U.S. President Donald Trump’s sudden termination of trade talks with Canada over an Ontario government ad campaign is not cause for alarm, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce CEO said Friday.

Candace Laing said the negotiations with the U.S. are “3D chess,” and no one should lose sight of the bigger picture.

“We currently have a strong trade deal that underpins massive amounts of investment, jobs and successful integrated industries. What the majority of businesses want is to keep the advantage of (the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade),” Laing said in a statement to The Canadian Press.

“Our negotiators have signalled there will be no quick wins and we need to focus on the long game goal: stable trade.”

Trump lashed out on social media Thursday over an ad campaign fielded by the Ontario government that features footage of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan saying tariffs damage economies. The ad began running in American media markets on Oct. 14.

Speaking on the tarmac outside Ottawa’s airport ahead of a flight to Asia on Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada can’t control a “fundamentally changed” U.S. trade policy.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government paid roughly $75 million for the ads, which his office confirmed will run during the World Series broadcast Friday in the U.S.

Ford said mid-afternoon Friday the ads would be paused on Monday to allow trade talks to continue.

Trump accused Canada of trying to influence an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling on his global tariff regime. The top court is set to hear oral arguments in November on the legality of Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — IEEPA — to hit most of the world with devastating duties.

Trump posted Friday that “CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT” for saying Reagan did not like tariffs, which Trump also claimed the late president “LOVED.”

Unifor president Lana Payne defended the ad in a media statement, saying Ford’s province has been hit hard by Trump’s tariff regime.

“We need to fight back. We can’t remain silent while we are bleeding jobs, and our workers and industries are under attack by unjust and punitive tariffs. That is exactly the outcome Trump is counting on,” Payne said.

“This is why Canada cannot allow the U.S. to pit workers against workers, sectors against sectors, regions against regions and Canadians against Canadians. We fight back together, we stand together because that is how we win.”

The Canadian Steel Producers Association said it will comment on the state of trade talks in the coming days and it continues to work with Ottawa toward a deal that supports the Canadian steel industry.

In a social media post, the senior vice-president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said there is much at stake with the Canada-U.S. relationship.

“We are Canada’s top trading partner — by a mile — but Canada is our top export market as well,” John Murphy wrote.

“Nearly 8 million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Canada. Americans benefit when we have more trade with Canada, not less.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2025.

— With files from Kyle Duggan in Ottawa