U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Prime Minister Mark Carney “apologized” for the Ontario government’s anti-tariff TV ad that scuttled Canada-U.S. trade talks when the two leaders met in Asia this week.
Asked aboard Air Force One on his way back to the U.S. from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Malaysia and South Korea if negotiations will resume, Trump said “no” before praising Carney.
“I have a very good relationship. I like him a lot,” he told reporters.
“He apologized for what they did with the commercial, because it was a false commercial. … He did apologize, and I appreciate it. We had a great dinner with other countries, and I think we have a very good relationship. Personally, I think that what they did was wrong, but he apologized.”
Global News has reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office for comment.
Carney told Global News on Wednesday that he had a “very good” conversation with Trump at a dinner hosted by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung with other world leaders, but did not say what they discussed.
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“A very good conversation. Always pleasant,” Carney said about Tuesday’s dinner, where he and Trump were seen pointing at each other and appeared to exchange pleasantries.
Trump last week said he was terminating all trade negotiations with Canada over the Ontario ad, which used portions of a 1987 speech by former U.S. president Ronald Reagan that warned against broad use of tariffs.
He has claimed Reagan “loved tariffs” and that the ad “tried to make it look the other way.”
The full speech was ultimately an explanation of why Reagan felt it necessary to impose duties on some Japanese products.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford ultimately pulled the ad after speaking with Carney, but allowed it run for two more days after Trump’s announcement so it could play during the first two games of the World Series.
Trump later said he was adding an additional 10 per cent tariff on Canada for not pulling the ad sooner, but has not yet signed an official order.
Carney has said Canada remains ready to resume negotiations with the U.S. and has not said if he disagreed with the ad or the decision to air it.
—With files from Global’s Uday Rana
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