«CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!»
The end
In a long Truth Social outburst, the president declared the end of all trade talks with Canada, accusing Ontario’s government of funding a «fake» U.S. ad using Ronald Reagan’s voice to criticize Trump’s tariffs.
An advertisement
In his first post on the matter, Trump wrote that «the Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs.»
The U.S. Supreme Court
He continued, alleging that «the ad was for $75,000,000» and that Canadian officials «only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts.»
Immediate legal challenges
After announcing his so-called «Liberation Day» tariffs on April 1, 2025, sweeping new import taxes justified under the IEEPA and set to take effect on April 2, Trump faced immediate legal challenges from businesses and several U.S. states. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court after lower courts struck down the tariffs as unlawful, prompting the administration to appeal.
The National Security
In his Truth Social publication, Trump defended his trade policy, insisting that «TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A.» Trump concluded the post by declaring that, based on what he called Canada’s «egregious behavior»: «ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.»
Accusing Canada of cheating
Clearly stung by the attack on his tariffs, Trump followed up with a series of all-caps posts on Truth Social defending his trade policy and accusing Canada of cheating, writing «THE UNITED STATES IS WEALTHY, POWERFUL, AND NATIONALLY SECURE AGAIN, ALL BECAUSE OF TARIFFS!» and «CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!»
Stronger than ever
Trump also claimed that «THE STOCK MARKET IS STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE BECAUSE OF TARIFFS!» and that Reagan «LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY.»
The shift
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to Trump’s decision to end trade negotiations by acknowledging the shift in U.S. policy, saying «We can’t control the trade policy of the U.S.»
Carney signals pivot to Asia
He added, «We recognize it has fundamentally changed from the policy in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and it’s a situation where the U.S. has tariffs against every trading partner.» Carney emphasized Canada’s goal of «developing new partnerships, including with the economic giants of Asia.»