SEOUL, Nov 02 (V7N) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has apologized to U.S. President Donald Trump for a controversial advertisement that angered the American leader and disrupted trade negotiations between the two countries.

Speaking at a press conference after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea on Saturday, Carney said, “I take responsibility for negotiating our relationship with our largest trading partner.” Referring to the ad produced by the Ontario provincial government, he added, “I have apologized to President Trump. He was upset by it.”

Carney emphasized, “As Prime Minister, I am accountable for my relationship with the U.S. President, and the federal government is responsible for our foreign relations. Things happen, both good and bad, and I have apologized for this mistake.”

The contentious ad featured a 1980s speech by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, in which he warned that certain tariff policies could trigger a “severe trade war” and increase unemployment. The ad was interpreted as a critique of Trump’s tariff policies, prompting a diplomatic dispute.

The Trump administration claimed that the advertisement misrepresented Reagan’s remarks and could influence ongoing Supreme Court cases concerning U.S. tariffs. Washington further argued that the ad falsely portrayed Reagan as opposing tariffs, while Trump insists Reagan supported them.

After the ad was not withdrawn, the U.S. suspended all trade talks with Canada and imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on Canadian goods, bringing total U.S. tariffs on Canadian products to 35 percent. On Friday, Trump told reporters, “I like Carney, our relationship is very good, but what they did was wrong. The ad was false. Reagan actually supported tariffs, and they presented it the other way.”

While the Ontario ad used actual excerpts from Reagan’s speech, the statements were rearranged in a way that altered their original context, fueling the dispute between the two nations.

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