Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has confirmed that he apologised to US President Donald Trump following the release of a controversial anti-tariff advertisement that featured late former US President Ronald Reagan, sparking a diplomatic row between both nations.
Speaking to reporters in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday, November 1, Carney acknowledged that the advertisement angered Trump, who publicly denounced it as a “fake anti-tariff campaign.”
“I did apologise to the president. The president was offended,” Carney stated.
He added that trade discussions between Canada and the United States, which Trump had abruptly suspended, would resume “when the US is ready.”
The controversy erupted after President Trump announced a 10 per cent increase in tariffs on Canadian goods, effectively freezing all ongoing trade negotiations between Ottawa and Washington.
The ad in question — reportedly produced by a Canadian advocacy group without official government endorsement — featured archival footage of Ronald Reagan criticising trade barriers. Trump, however, alleged that the footage had been manipulated to undermine his administration’s trade policies.
While Carney did not confirm whether the Canadian government had any prior knowledge or involvement in the ad’s production, his apology marks a clear attempt to de-escalate diplomatic tensions following a week of fiery exchanges between officials from both countries.
