Late on Thursday, President Trump announced the termination of all trade negotiations with Canada, citing a Canadian government advertisement that he alleged misused the remarks of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and criticised U.S. tariffs.
In a post on his social-media platform, President Trump wrote: “Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”
The advertisement referenced was from the Ontario government and showed Reagan warning about the impact of tariffs on jobs and trade. Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford had earlier acknowledged the advertisement had caught the president’s eye, stating that he believed Trump “wasn’t too happy” about it.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has emphasized Canada’s unwillingness to grant unfair access to its markets if a U.S. trade deal fails.
The current trade talks come as a result of the U.S. raising tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium, and autos earlier this year, prompting retaliatory moves from Ottawa. Talks had been underway between the two countries to resolve the dispute.
With the agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico scheduled for review next year, this fresh breakdown threatens to complicate not only bilateral relations but the broader North American trade architecture.
Canada exports large volumes of energy and raw materials to the U.S., and any trade shock may ripple into resource flows, investment decisions, and regulatory alignment in oil, gas, minerals, and power sectors. For oil markets, that means yet more uncertainty.
At the time of writing, oil prices were down slightly after soaring during Thursday’s session, with Brent trading at $65.57 and WTI falling to $61.39.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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