Controversial Canadian Reagan Ad Sparks Debate Over Election Integrity

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On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent drew parallels between a Canadian advertisement featuring former President Reagan and what he described as “election interference,” a comparison that arose after the ad upset President Trump.

In an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Bessent remarked, “I heard that the premier of Ontario allocated $75 million to send propaganda across the U.S. border.”

Tapper interjected, adding, “These are Ronald Reagan’s own words.”

In response, Bessent elaborated, “Using our airwaves, on our own airwaves, it mirrors election interference. No one appreciates foreign election interference. It’s unsettling when foreign governments attempt to influence public opinion for their own purposes.”

On Friday, President Trump said that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney apologized for the ad that used Reagan’s criticism of tariffs to slam the White House’s trade policies.

The Ontario ad later aired during the World Series between Canada’s own Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The ad clearly frustrated the president, who pledged to stop trade conversations with Canada, adding a 10 percent tariff, after it initially aired.

Trump claimed the ad wrongly represented Reagan’s remark, switching up the order of his remarks about tariffs.

In the last few months, Trump’s tariff policy has strained relationships with American allies like Canada and the European Union, rattled markets and provoked widespread economic uncertainty.

A mayor from Ontario defended the ad paid for by his province last week.

“I support the premier’s approach,” Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said Sunday on CBC’s “Rosemary Barton Live,” referring to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who spearheaded the ad. “Sometimes you need to throw a rock in a pond to get a splash. He’s got a reaction.”

“It’s got a lot of coverage. And the words are truthful, despite what they’re trying to spin and say that, you know, it’s only a portion of the speech, Ronald Reagan viewed tariffs as taxes that would cost America in the long term.”

The Hill has reached out to Ford’s office for comment.