Prime Minister Mark Carney says he apologized to U.S. President Donald Trump for an anti-tariff ad made by Ontario Premier Doug Ford and told Ford not to release it.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday after an Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea, Carney said he privately apologized to Trump during a dinner hosted by South Korea’s president on Wednesday.
“I did apologize to the president,” Carney said, confirming Trump’s earlier comments.
Carney added that he saw the ad before it aired and told Ford he didn’t support it. “I told Ford I did not want to go forward with the ad,” he said.
The ad, created by Ford, used a clip of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan warning that tariffs lead to trade wars and economic problems.
After the ad was released, Trump announced higher tariffs on Canadian goods and said trade talks with Canada were being stopped.
Trump later told reporters he had a “very nice” conversation with Carney at the dinner in South Korea but did not give details. On Friday, he repeated that U.S.-Canada trade talks would not restart.
Carney also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, calling it a turning point in Canada-China relations after years of tension.
The last formal meeting between Canadian and Chinese leaders was in 2017, when then-prime minister Justin Trudeau briefly spoke with Xi in San Francisco.
Relations between the two countries have been strained in recent years, with Canadian citizens detained or executed in China, and Canadian officials accusing China of interfering in federal elections.
Carney said he discussed foreign interference and other issues with Xi. He added that his trip to Asia was part of an effort to make Canada less dependent on the United States.
“It can’t happen overnight, but we’re moving very fast,” he said.
