The trade dispute between the United States and Canada has taken a radical turn. While discussions were underway to resolve the months-long tariff war, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the immediate end of negotiations with Ottawa.

On the evening of Thursday, October 23, 2025, Donald Trump ended the ongoing talks. "In light of their outrageous behavior, all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated," he declared on social media. This decision confirms the continuation of the trade standoff between the two neighbors.

The cause of this escalation was a television advertising campaign broadcast in the United States by Ontario, one of Canada's largest provinces. This advertisement attacked the policy of increasing American tariffs by using a 1987 speech by former US President Ronald Reagan, who denounced the harmful consequences of customs tariffs for American consumers.

This use of Reagan's speech angered the White House tenant.

He accused Canada of "fraudulently using" the remarks. "The Ronald Reagan Foundation just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an ad, which is FAKE, in which Ronald Reagan speaks negatively about tariffs," Trump wrote Thursday evening.

On Friday, October 24, 2025, the US president reiterated his accusations, going so far as to imply an illegal intent. “Canada cheated and got caught!!! They fraudulently ran a big ad saying Ronald Reagan didn’t like tariffs, when in reality, he liked tariffs for our country and its national security. Canada is trying to illegally influence the US Supreme Court,” he posted on Truth Social.

The breakdown of trade negotiations thus marks a thunderclap in bilateral relations, occurring after a media provocation which abruptly ended the search for a consensus.