U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said restarting trade talks with Canada will not be easy after they were cancelled by Washington following the airing of Ontario’s anti-tariff ad down south.
Hoekstra said the move by Ontario Premier Doug Ford appeared to be without precedent and that anyone should “seriously consider” before adopting such a strategy to reach political objectives in the United States.
Hoekstra said, while attending the National Manufacturing Conference in Ottawa Nov. 19, that “no one can ever remember a like circumstance where a foreign government came into the United States” to broadcast an ad “targeting the president of the United States and his policies 10 days before an election and a couple of weeks before a Supreme Court case would be heard.”
Hoekstra was referring to gubernatorial elections and other down ballot races taking place earlier this month, as well as the highest U.S. court currently evaluating whether U.S. President Donald Trump has overstepped his authority in imposing a category of tariffs on foreign countries, including Canada.
“You do not come into America and start running political ads, government-funded political ads, and expect … there will be no consequences or reaction from the United States of America and the Trump administration,” he said. “As far as we can tell, it has never happened in America before.”
Hoekstra said it doesn’t matter that the ad came from a province and not Ottawa. “I’m sorry, we don’t go through that, you know, slicing and dicing.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney said it was an “obvious” choice for Ottawa not to run anti-tariff ads in the United States.
The Ontario government started a $75 million anti-U.S. tariffs ad campaign in the United States in late October, using part of a 1987 radio address from then-President Ronald Reagan.
The address extolls the virtues of free trade but began with Reagan explaining his decision to impose tariffs on Japan, accusing it of unfair trade practices. This portion of the speech was not used in the ad.
Trump cancelled ongoing trade talks with Canada because of the ad, saying it was an attempt to interfere with the Supreme Court’s decision on tariffs. He also pointed to a statement from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute saying the ad misrepresents Reagan’s address.
By Noé Chartier
