U.S. Treasury Secretary Labels Ontario's $75 Million Anti-Tariff Campaign "Election Interference"

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has vehemently criticized the Ontario government's recent advertising campaign in the United States, labeling the reported $75 million expenditure as "election interference" and "propaganda." Speaking on national television, Bessent stated, > "This is unacceptable that I read that the Premier of Ontario spent 75 million dollars sending propaganda across the U.S. border via our own airwaves. It's the equivalent of election interference. Nobody likes foreign election interference. Nobody likes foreign governments trying to sway public opinion."

The controversial advertisements, which aired during World Series games on U.S. television, featured archival footage of former President Ronald Reagan. In the clips, Reagan was heard discussing the negative impacts of tariffs, asserting that they lead to trade wars and economic crises. Ontario's Premier Doug Ford's government initiated the campaign, aiming to influence U.S. public opinion regarding President Trump's tariff policies against Canadian goods.

President Donald Trump reacted strongly to the ads, claiming they misrepresented Reagan's views and were an attempt to interfere with a U.S. Supreme Court review of his tariff decisions. Following the campaign, Trump threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on Canadian imports and halted ongoing trade negotiations with Canada. Secretary Bessent echoed these sentiments, describing the ads as "interference in U.S. sovereign matters" and "psy-ops."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney later apologized to President Trump for the advertisements, reportedly advising Premier Ford against running them. While some Canadian officials, such as Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, defended the ads as a legitimate way to highlight concerns about tariffs, Bessent criticized Ford's judgment, noting the ads have since been taken down. The incident has strained diplomatic and trade relations between the two neighboring countries, particularly impacting the most populous Canadian province.