Kinew backs Ontario anti-tariff ad campaign featuring voice of Reagan

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew lent his support to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s anti-tariff commercial.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is chiming in on the latest riff between Canada and U.S. President Donald Trump over tariffs – sharing his own Ronald Reagan-style video on social media.

The latest breakdown in trade negotiations came from an anti-tariff ad launched by the Ontario government featuring historic footage of former U.S. President Reagan. The ad features clips of Reagan during a radio address on free and fair trade from April 1987.

In a video posted on Instagram earlier Friday, Kinew shared his own take on the 1987 address while throwing his support behind Ontario’s ad.

In the video – complete with wood panelling and a Reagan-era television – Kinew said Ontario’s ads present Reagan’s views on tariffs “accurately and powerfully.”

Kinew goes on to say Trump’s damaging tariffs go completely against Reagan’s legacy.

“And, it’s clear that these ads are working. If you throw a rock at a lake and you don’t hear a splash, you’ve probably missed,” Kinew said. “So, to my good friend Doug Ford—keep the ads on TV. They’re effective, and this country is behind you.”

However, hours after Kinew’s post on social media, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the province will pull the ads from broadcast on Monday so trade talks can resume.

“Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford posted on X.

“We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels. I’ve directed my team to keep putting our message in front of Americans over the weekend so that we can air our commercial during the first two World Series games.”

Ford’s announcement comes after Trump wrote on social media that all trade negotiations with Canada were being terminated based on the Ontario government’s “egregious behavior.”

On his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that “Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs.”

• With files from CTV’s Stephanie Ha and Lynn Chaya