Premier Ford says the Ronald Reagan tariff ad was the ‘best ad ever run,’ and it reached a lot of Americans’ attention. PM Carney did not comment.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the anti-tariff ad his government ran south of the border briefly this fall, was “the best ad that’s ever been run,” despite U.S. President Donald Trump terminating trade talks with Canada over it.

“12.4 billion views,” Ford said while speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Thursday. “We wanted to bring it to the attention of the American people, and to be very frank, it was President Trump. If he didn’t comment on it, rather than 12.4 billion views, it might be 12.4 people viewing it.”

As Ford said this, Prime Minister Mark Carney – standing just behind him as the pair had just signed a new cooperation agreement – smirked, and then made a series of faces that indicated he disagreed with what he was hearing.

Carney Ford Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, reacts to an answer from Ontario Premier Doug Ford as reporters ask questions following an announcement on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The premier went on to say that he’s aware it’s easier for him to say this, given he’s not the Canadian official on the front lines navigating negotiations with Trump and his officials.

When Carney’s facial expressions were flagged to Ford in a follow-up question, the premier said he was not speaking for the prime minister.

“I’m speaking for the people of Ontario. We’re getting hit the most out of any single province in this entire country,” Ford said. “I’m going to continue fighting to make sure we get a fair deal.”

Premier Ford and PM Carney Ontario Premier Doug Ford, left, and Prime Minister Mark Carney take part in a signing ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. They are joined by Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Todd McCarthy, back left, and Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Steven MacKinnon, back right. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Ford’s comments came after CTV News initially asked Carney if it was his view that sectoral tariffs would be lower right now if Ford hadn’t aired the ad, which featured the voice of former Republican U.S. president Ronald Reagan speaking about protectionism.

In response to that, before Ford weighed in, the prime minister indicated that the two countries had been “close to an agreement,” but are now more likely to iron out steel, aluminum and other sector-specific trade tensions as part of the broader review of their trade relationship, in the new year.

In the immediate aftermath of the ad drama this fall, Ford and Carney appeared at odds over the ordeal, with the premier saying the prime minister had asked him to pull the ad. Ford also expressed a difference in recollection of the conversations between them, in the lead up to the ad airing in the first place.

The premier told Queen’s Park reporters that both the prime minister and his chief of staff Marc-André Blanchard saw the ad prior to it airing, which the Prime Minister’s Office would not confirm or deny.

Doug Ford, Mark Carney Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, left and Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives to take part in the First Minister Meeting at the National War Museum in Ottawa on Friday, March 21, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

A federal government source would only say at the time that the “decision was made by the Government of Ontario, and the federal government was not involved in the production or distribution of this ad.”

The ad also led U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra to lash out at Ontario’s trade representative in Washington, David Paterson, at an event in Ottawa back in October.

Throughout, Carney – who apologized to Trump for the ad – was clear that Canada stood ready to resume talks at any time, a position he restated on Thursday.

“We’re ready to sit down on the weekend, negotiate any weekend, anytime,” Carney said. “But we’re also busy.”

With files from CTV News’ Stephanie Ha