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“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

ANALYSIS: Why did Donald Trump really scrap trade talks with Canada? (CBC)


Was Trump's Canada outrage really about an ad?


An Ontario government advertisement spreading an anti-tariff message to Americans has created a litany of problems for Canada.

For starters, U.S. President Donald Trump has terminated trade discussions with the Canadians. Not only that, he announced Saturday afternoon he's hiking 'the Tariff on Canada' by 10 per cent “over and above what they are paying now."

The ad uses a speech by former U.S. president Ronald Reagan to spread an anti-tariff message to Americans. Trump, who noticed the ad early in the week, finally blew up on Thursday night and announced the U.S. would no longer negotiate with Canada. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Friday he'll suspend the ad in the hopes negotiations resume on Monday. But Trump has given no indication yet that's enough to get discussions back on track as he and Carney prepare for the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

So all that said, was it really an advertisement that got Canada in this much trouble with the president? As CBC's Mike Crawley reports from Washington, there may be more than meets the eye ...

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