Managing Trump(his Tariffs…and everything else): 1)(Updated) Carney: ‘We stand ready’ for Trump to resume trade talks; 2)Trump says all Canada trade talks ‘terminated’ over ad criticising tariffs; 3) Business sector not sounding alarm after Trump ends trade talks over ad campaign; 4)(Updated) General Motors ending BrightDrop production in Ingersoll, Ont.
1)(Updated) Carney: ‘We stand ready’ for Trump to resume trade talks
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By Kyle Duggan, October 24, 2025
Carney: ‘We stand ready’ for Trump to resume trade talks
Canadian negotiators “stand ready” for the Americans to resume trade negotiations, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly ended those talks late Thursday night.
Trump lashed out over an ad campaign fielded by the Ontario provincial government that features footage of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan saying tariffs damage economies.
Standing on the tarmac outside Ottawa’s airport Friday morning, Carney said Canada can’t control a U.S. trade policy that has “fundamentally changed.”
“Our officials, my colleagues, have been working with their American colleagues on detailed, constructive negotiations, discussions on specific transactions, specific sectors — steel, aluminum and energy — and a lot of progress has been made,” Carney said in a brief statement before boarding a government jet.
“We stand ready to pick up on that progress and build on that progress when the Americans are ready to have those discussions.”
Carney spoke just before jetting off to Asia to attend several international summits that Trump is also expected to attend.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said in a message posted to social media that “it’s clear” Ontario’s ads are working.
“If you throw a rock at a lake and you don’t hear a splash, you probably missed. So, to my good friend (Ontario Premier) Doug Ford, keep the ads on TV. They’re effective and this country is behind you,” Kinew said.
On her way into Parliament Friday, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May chanted, “Go Doug Ford!” and called Trump a “thin-skinned” leader. She said Trump clearly doesn’t understand how Canadian federalism works – that Ontario bought the ads, not the federal government.
The 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.”
But Rob Oliphant, parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, said “negotiations will happen again. They always do.”
“There are always speed bumps along the way,” Oliphant said. “We have to keep going and make sure that we have a conversation that continues.”
NDP MP Gord Johns said it’s time for Ottawa to strike back at the U.S., now that talks have broken down.
“We have things that they need, critical minerals, potash, oil and gas – resources that they rely on,” he said. “Obviously, Canadian wood is important to their home builders, so we’ve got a lot of leverage and it’s time for us to use it.”
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.
Trump doubled down on his criticisms Friday, accusing Canada of trying to influence an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling on his global tariff regime.
America’s top court is scheduled 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.”
Reagan was a staunch advocate of free trade. He negotiated the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement that changed the structure of the North American economy and removed many trade barriers, including tariffs.
The Ontario government paid about $75 million for the ads, which use audio and video of Reagan speaking about tariffs in 1987 and have aired across multiple American television stations.
Premier Ford responded to Trump’s criticisms by posting on social media Friday morning that Reagan knew Canada and the U.S. are “stronger together.”
Ford also linked to a video of Reagan’s full remarks.
“High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,” Reagan said in the 1987 radio address that was used in the Ontario ads.
“Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs.”
On Thursday, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute posted on social media that the ads misrepresent the president’s address and Ontario did not seek or receive permission to “use and edit the remarks.”
In a statement in response to the Reagan Foundation, Ford’s office said the commercial uses an unedited excerpt from one of Reagan’s speeches now in public domain.
Ford’s office said the premier would not be available to answer questions Friday and his government cancelled two planned press conferences by the housing and environment ministers.
When the ads were launched, Ford said he intended to blast Reagan’s anti-tariff message across America.
“We’re going to repeat that message to every Republican district there is right across the entire country,” Ford said on Oct. 15.
Trump said earlier this week he saw the ad on television and claimed it showed that his tariffs were having an impact.
“I saw an ad last night from Canada. If I was Canada, I’d take that same ad also,” he said at the time.
— With files from Allison Jones and Maan Alhmidi in Toronto, Sarah Ritchie and The Associated Press
2) Trump says all Canada trade talks ‘terminated’ over ad criticising tariffs
US president accuses Canada of ‘egregious behaviour’ after release of ad featuring Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs
Joanna Partridge, Courtesy of the TheGuardian.com
24 Oct 2025
Donald Trump has announced an immediate end to “all trade negotiations” with Canada over a television advertisement opposing US tariffs that quoted the former US president Ronald Reagan.
The ad, which was paid for by the government of the Canadian province of Ontario, uses excerpts of a 1987 speech where Reagan says “trade barriers hurt every American worker”.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Canada had “fraudulently used an advertisment[sic]”, which he called “FAKE”, and accused the country of trying to interfere with US court decisions on the levies. “Based on their egregious behavior, all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated,” he wrote.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, confirmed on Friday that all trade negotiations with Ottawa had been suspended. Trump later posted on Truth Social that “Canada cheated and got caught”. He claimed the ad was an attempt to influence the US supreme court hearings on the legality of his global tariffs, which begin on 5 November.
Washington originally imposed a 25% tariff on imports of Canadian goods including timber, steel, aluminum and cars in the spring, prompting retaliatory action from Ottawa. The rate was raised to 35% by Trump in August.
Ontario has been particularly badly hit by the escalating trade war, and the province’s premier, Doug Ford, has been one of the most vocal critics of the US border taxes.
Washington originally imposed a 25% tariff on imports of Canadian goods including timber, steel, aluminum and cars in the spring, prompting retaliatory action from Ottawa. The rate was raised to 35% by Trump in August.
Ontario has been particularly badly hit by the escalating trade war, and the province’s premier, Doug Ford, has been one of the most vocal critics of the US border taxes.
Ford launched the province’s new advertising campaign featuring Reagan’s comments earlier in October. He said at the time in a post on Instagram: “Using every tool we have, we’ll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada. The way to prosperity is by working together.”
The minute-long clip, aimed at a US audience, features excerpts from a presidential radio address by Reagan, played over images of workers and families, the New York stock exchange, as well as cargo ships and cranes flying US and Canadian flags.
The April 1987 speech was broadcast before a visit to the US by the prime minister of Japan at a time of trade tensions between the two countries and shortly after Reagan had levied import duties on some Japanese products such as computer chips.
In the excerpt, Reagan says: “When someone says: ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for a short while it works, but only for a short time.
“But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer.”
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, a non-profit organisation that works to advance his legacy and principles, wrote in a post on X that Ontario did not seek or receive permission to include the clips.
The foundation said in a statement that the advert used “selective audio and video” and “misrepresents” Reagan’s comments. It said it was “reviewing its legal options”. Trump cited the foundation’s criticism in his Truth Social post.
Ford wrote on X on Friday: “Canada and the United States are friends, neighbours and allies. President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together.”
Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has said he was “disappointed” by Trump’s decision to raise the level of tariffs in August. The two leaders met earlier this month in an attempt to ease tensions over trade, and to prepare for a review of the US-Mexico-Canada agreement, a trade deal Trump negotiated in his first term but has since soured on.
More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the US, and almost C$3.6bn (£1.9bn) worth of goods and services cross the border daily.
Carney has said he would continue to negotiate with the US and would also work on bringing down trade barriers within Canada to create new investment and get consumers to buy Canadian-made goods, while diversifying export markets.
Trump’s administration is also hardening its stance on other nations, including imposing the first sanctions on Russia since his return to the White House.
Washington announced on Wednesday it was putting sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, adding to US pressure on the Kremlin to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine.
The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, is to meet China’s vice-premier, He Lifeng, in Malaysia on Friday for trade talks, at a time of escalating trade tensions between the two powers. Trump is due to have the first meeting in his second term with China’s president, Xi Jinping, at the end of the month in South Korea.
Reagan’s 1987 speech was a defence of free but fair trade in which he explained his decision to put duties on Japanese goods in a trade dispute.
In the full five-minute statement the then president said he had been “loth to take” the decision to put tariffs on Japan but had been forced to do so to hold it to its “trade agreement with us on electronic devices called semiconductors”.
Reagan then gives a lengthy warning of the dangers of trade protectionism, describing how it contributed to the misery of the Great Depression in the 1930s.
“High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,” he said. “Then the worst happens: markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs.”
3) Business sector not sounding alarm after Trump ends trade talks over ad campaign
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By Alessia Passafiume, October 24, 2025
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Business sector not sounding alarm after Trump ends trade talks over ad campaign
President Donald Trump points to a reporter during a roundtable in the State Dining Room of the White House on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says it isn’t alarmed after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he is halting trade talks with Canada over an ad campaign run by the Ontario government.
Chamber CEO 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.”
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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.
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.
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.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2025.
— With files from Kyle Duggan in Ottawa
(Updated) General Motors ending BrightDrop production in Ingersoll, Ont.
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By Ian Bickis, October 21, 2025
A General Motors BrightDrop electric delivery vehicle sits on a track at GM Canada’s Canadian Technical Centre McLaughlin Advanced Technology Track in Oshawa, Ont. on Monday, April 4, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
General Motors has announced an end to production of its electric delivery van at its Ingersoll, Ont., plant just a week after Stellantis said it would be moving production planned for its Brampton, Ont. plant to Illinois.
The two automakers cutting planned production in the province in as many weeks has labour leaders and politicians signalling more aggressive efforts to push back against the companies in an effort to save the industry.
“We have to stand up and say enough is enough, we’re fighting back,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne.
She wants government to be ready to use counter-tariffs against automakers, which companies currently have a reprieve from as long as they keep their footprint and employment in Canada.
While there’s a balance to strike between courting companies and punishing them, Payne said the current approach clearly isn’t working as the roughly 3,000 workers in Brampton and more than 1,000 in Ingersoll no longer have a clear future ahead.
To stop the trend, companies need to feel pressure from more than just the Trump administration, she said.
“The only way that we can keep production in Canada, and make sure we’re keeping these jobs here and saving the auto industry, is these companies have to feel pressure from us too. That is critically important.”
Provincial and federal leaders have also signalled a shift to a stronger response, including the federal government last week threatening to sue Stellantis for breach of contract by cutting its Canadian footprint.
Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Tuesday that after speaking with Unifor and Ontario leaders they had agreed to create a response group to make a more co-ordinated fight for the auto industry.
“We need to make sure that we fight for these jobs, that there are new models coming back to Ingersoll, and that GM has a bright future here in Canada,” said Joly before heading into a cabinet meeting.
Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said he’s already expressed to GM his disappointment.
“The message was very clear, this is not acceptable,” he said. “But the real point is this assault on the Canadian auto sector has to stop.”
He said the province is reviewing contracts in place with both GM and Stellantis after both it and the federal government provided funding to the companies to invest in the auto plants they’ve now left in limbo.
All three parties met with Stellantis on Monday, and Payne said she was encouraged to see both governments backing up labour.
“We’re going to be working together with both levels of government to hold the feet of these companies to the fire and to say you made commitments here, we expect you to live up to them,” said Payne.
General Motors said the decision to end production of the BrightDrop vehicle was demand-related, and it wasn’t moving production elsewhere.
The company had already temporarily cut production in April before fully idling the plant in May, leaving more than 1,200 unionized workers temporarily laid off. The plant was supposed to restart operations in November with a single shift that would have meant around half that number heading back to work.
Kristian Aquilina, president of GM Canada, said in an interview that there are no firm plans in place for the plant.
“With this news just fresh, we’ll now assess the future opportunities for the plant,” Aquilina said.
“We’re very energized now as a result of this news to find other solutions, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We’re looking at various opportunities.”
Aquilina said the decision to end production of the BrightDrop had nothing to do with tariffs, but others say the trade war is having an effect on the company’s decisions.
Payne said the plant was hit both by Trump’s decision to hit Canada with tariffs and to dismantle EV supports.
Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said that the uncertainty caused by tariffs has likely contributed to the decision to simply end production, rather than replace it with another product.
“They could have put that Equinox production back where they took it from,” said Volpe.
“They chose not to because the uncertainty around this Trump tariff war.”
The plant previously produced the popular Chevy Equinox model before shutting production in 2022 to retool the plant for the BrightDrop.
He said he’s encouraged that the company has idled the plant, rather than formally closed it, but that the federal government also needs to be prepared to use what means it has to ensure automakers to stay in Canada.
That includes both incentives like the $5 billion restructuring fund to help companies produce for the Canadian market, as well as sticks like tariffs.
“You have to use every lever that you think you have.”
— With files from Nick Murray in Ottawa and Liam Casey in Toronto.