Ford says PM asked him ‘a couple of times’ to pull ad
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TORONTO — Prime Minister Mark Carney called Doug Ford “a couple of times” from Asia to ask him to pull an ad campaign that’s being blamed for ending trade talks with the United States, the Ontario premier said Monday.
Carney said this weekend that he told Ford he didn’t think the province should run the ad that featured clips of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs.
When asked Monday after question period about those remarks, Ford said he did not want to divulge details of their conversations, but indicated he didn’t agree with Carney’s characterization.
Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) makes an announcement with Ontario Premier Doug Ford at the Darlington Energy Complex in Courtice, Ont., on Oct. 23. Ford said Monday that Carney, who was on an official visit to Asia at the time, did ask him more than once to take the anti-tariff ads down. (The Canadian Press files)
“I had a different recollection of our conversation,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump cut off trade talks last month, blaming the TV spots, and Ford agreed to pull them but not before continuing to run them for a few more days, through World Series games. That prompted Trump to threaten to add another 10 per cent tariff on Canadian goods.
Ford said Monday that Carney, who was on an official visit to Asia, did ask him more than once to take the ads down.
“He called me from Asia a couple of 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,” Ford said.
The two politicians continue to have a “great relationship,” Ford said.
Carney said Trump was “offended” by the ad and said he apologized to the president. Ford said Carney did not give him a heads-up about the apology.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not comment directly on Ford’s remarks.
“The prime minister has addressed this issue,” a spokesperson wrote in a statement.
“As he has been from the start, he remains focused on the federal government’s responsibility for direct engagement with the U.S. administration, and getting to a deal that benefits workers and businesses for both of our nations.”
Ford is still bullish on the ad he says has 12.4 billion views, suggesting it is the most viewed ad “in the history of the world” and crediting it with leading to a U.S. Senate resolution against tariffs.
“It was on the floor of the Senate and because of that ad, the Republicans lost the vote,” Ford said in the legislature.
“Four Republicans … switched sides. They talked about the ad. It’s making a massive, massive difference.”
Ontario’s original ad campaign was to cost $75 million and run through the winter. Now that it has been pulled, the cost to taxpayers will be far less, but the government has not yet given a final tally.
Canada-U.S. trade talks have not resumed, though the Canadian government has said it is ready to pick back up where it left off.
» The Canadian Press