Ontario Premier Doug Ford has decided that the best weapon against American tariffs isn’t another trade deal or political negotiation it’s Ronald Reagan’s voice.
In a move that’s both bold and a little nostalgic, Ford’s government is launching its second multimillion-dollar ad campaign in the United States, this time spending a hefty $75 million to remind Americans what one of their most beloved presidents once said: tariffs don’t work.
The new one-minute ad features Reagan’s own words from a 1987 radio address, layered over sweeping shots of the U.S. heartland and the Canada-U.S. border. The message? Tariffs may look patriotic, but they end up hurting everyone including American workers.
“You see, at first, when someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing,” Reagan’s voice says. “But only for a short time.”
It’s a smart move. Rather than attacking U.S. policy head-on something that rarely wins friends south of the border Ford is borrowing the credibility of a conservative icon. By using Reagan’s words, the campaign directly appeals to the Republican voters who form a major part of Donald Trump’s base.
Ford told a crowd at Toronto’s Empire Club of Canada that the ad will run on every major U.S. network “with the possible exception of CNN,” quipping that they might be “a little nervous about it.” It’s classic Ford part salesman, part showman, but undeniably strategic.
And make no mistake, Ontario has reason to fight. Trump’s tariffs have hit key sectors of the province hard especially steel, copper, aluminum, and automotive manufacturing. Factories in cities like Windsor and Oshawa are feeling the pain, with the province’s unemployment rate climbing to 7.9 percent in September.
From a political standpoint, Ford’s approach is interesting. He isn’t appealing to Washington bureaucrats or economic think tanks; he’s talking directly to everyday Americans, many of whom are already feeling the pinch of higher prices caused by tariffs. By quoting Reagan who remains a near-mythic figure in Republican circles Ford is cleverly framing free trade as not just an economic argument, but a patriotic one.
“High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,” Reagan warned decades ago. His words feel eerily relevant today.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether this $75 million media blitz will move the needle in U.S. politics. But one thing is certain: Doug Ford is betting that Reagan’s ghost can do what modern diplomacy hasn’t make America remember that trade wars have no real winners.
And in a political era defined by loud voices and short memories, that’s a message worth repeating.
