Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has issued a surprise apology to US President Donald Trump over a contentious anti-tariff advertisement that aired in Canada. The ad, commissioned by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, featured a snippet of former Republican President Ronald Reagan warning of the dangers of tariffs and trade wars.
Carney confirmed speaking to reporters on Saturday after attending an Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea, saying he made the apology privately to Trump during a dinner hosted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The Canadian PM stated that while reviewing the ad with Ford beforehand, he explicitly expressed his opposition to running it, but unfortunately, it still went ahead.
The ad's release triggered a sharp response from Trump, who subsequently increased tariffs on goods from Canada and announced that trade talks between the two countries would remain halted. In a brief encounter earlier this week, Trump referred to a "very nice" conversation with Carney at the dinner, but declined to elaborate further.
However, during his Friday press conference, Trump reiterated that both countries will not restart trade talks. Meanwhile, Carney reported a significant shift in relations after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. This marked one of the leaders' first direct engagements since 2017 and came amid years of tension following China's detention of Canadian citizens and allegations of foreign interference in Canada.
The Canadian PM revealed that discussions with Xi touched upon topics including interference, as well as other pressing issues. Carney also emphasized the Asia trip as part of a broader effort to diversify Canada's economic ties away from its long-standing relationship with the US.
Carney confirmed speaking to reporters on Saturday after attending an Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea, saying he made the apology privately to Trump during a dinner hosted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The Canadian PM stated that while reviewing the ad with Ford beforehand, he explicitly expressed his opposition to running it, but unfortunately, it still went ahead.
The ad's release triggered a sharp response from Trump, who subsequently increased tariffs on goods from Canada and announced that trade talks between the two countries would remain halted. In a brief encounter earlier this week, Trump referred to a "very nice" conversation with Carney at the dinner, but declined to elaborate further.
However, during his Friday press conference, Trump reiterated that both countries will not restart trade talks. Meanwhile, Carney reported a significant shift in relations after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. This marked one of the leaders' first direct engagements since 2017 and came amid years of tension following China's detention of Canadian citizens and allegations of foreign interference in Canada.
The Canadian PM revealed that discussions with Xi touched upon topics including interference, as well as other pressing issues. Carney also emphasized the Asia trip as part of a broader effort to diversify Canada's economic ties away from its long-standing relationship with the US.
Trump and Trudeau need to chill out about this ad thing already... like, come on, it was just an ad 
. I mean, Carney apologized and all that, but can't they just talk things through instead of escalating the situation? 
And btw, what's with all these tariffs?! Who benefits from that?! 
. Trudeau's got a lot on his plate, imo. glad carney spoke up tho, doesn't seem like he was trying to hide anything 
. wonder if ford really knew what he was getting himself into with that ad 
. anyway, seems like canada's tryin' to diversify their ties and make some new friends 
. fingers crossed it pays off 
Canada's not going to start imposing tariffs on everything, is it? 
... i feel like our prime minister just took one for the team, you know? apologizing to trump over something that's not even his fault 
. but on a positive note, seeing our pm having direct talks with chinese president is a huge step for our country 
. maybe this means we can start rebuilding those trade ties and moving forward 
. fingers crossed 
but no, one guy runs an ad that uses some old dude's words to trash our trade policies and now we're in the middle of a tariff war? 
it's just weird. and what's with trump's response? he's all cool about it until he sees an ad and then suddenly he's all like "we're not talking again". 
Like, I gotta say, this Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is low-key the real MVP right now 
. Apologizing to Trump over that ad was a major move, and I'm here for it 
. I mean, who doesn't love a good apology sesh? 
. But Carney's got this, fam 
. Meeting with Xi Jinping was a major win, and it shows that Canada is branching out and not just relying on the US 
This Asia trip was a major step forward for Canada, and I'm hyped to see what other moves they make 
.