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Trade tensions between Canada and the United States are heating up after Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives rolled out a $75-million ad campaign that critics say misrepresents former U.S. president Ronald Reagan’s views on tariffs. 

The ad features a 1987 clip of Reagan appearing to speak out against tariffs, but many argue the quote was taken out of context, pointing out that Reagan actually supported a number of protectionist measures during his time in office.

On yesterday’s Rebel Roundtable livestream, David Menzies and Drea Humphrey were joined by independent journalist Caryma Sa'd and political commentator Kirk Lubimov to discuss the ad and its disastrous consequences for U.S.-Canada trade negotiations. 

“If Doug Ford’s goal was to piss off Donald Trump, then I guess this ad campaign was a success, because where do we go from here?” said David. 

“I think the point was to deflect away from how bad we’re doing in this economic trade war,” said Drea. “[Trump] is such a Reagan fan… Of all of the ads you could have picked, why would you choose that one?”

Kirk Lubimov characterized the ad as “an awful mistake” that grossly misjudged the climate of negotiations between Canada and the United States. 

“You don’t start, I guess, competing two presidents against each other in the U.S. — especially someone who is quite loved, as Reagan is for a lot of people,” he said. “It’s pretty easy to take quotes out of history and use them for the wrong reasons, and this is essentially what Doug Ford has done.”