Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Monday defended his anti-tariff ad campaign as "the best ad that ever ran," after U.S. President Donald Trump scuttled trade talks with Canada over the campaign.

The premier said he will "never apologize" for pushing back on U.S. tariffs that threaten auto sector jobs in his province and claimed his government's $75-million ad campaign in major U.S. television markets was "the most successful ad in the history of North America."

"Oh my goodness, did we get our money's worth," Ford told reporters at Queen's Park on Monday.

The ad played in multiple U.S. markets and appeared during baseball playoff broadcasts. It went viral after Trump lashed out over the ad in several Truth Social posts.

Ford said his intention was not to "poke the president in the eye" but to warn the American public that Trump's trade war is "going to cost" them.

Trump said Thursday night he was suspending trade talks with Canada and told reporters travelling with him to Malaysia on Saturday that he would hit back at Canada with additional 10 per cent tariffs in retaliation over the ad.

Speaking to reporters at the conclusion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia on Monday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa and Washington had been close to a deal when Trump abruptly put trade talks on ice last week.

Carney said there were "very detailed, very specific, very comprehensive" negotiations about steel, aluminum and energy trade before everything changed on Thursday.

"We stand by the progress that had been made, the government of Canada does, and we are ready, when appropriate, to pick that up," he said.

But Ford contended he's been hearing about an imminent deal for months now, with little talk of relief coming for Ontario's battered automotive sector.

"There's no mention whatsoever of auto. I feel like it's slipped to the side," Ford said. "I've got to fight for the autoworkers, the steelworkers, the manufacturing and life-science sector — all these sectors that President Trump wants to annihilate, not just from our country but, in particular, he wants to take jobs from Ontario."

While Ford praised the ad campaign, he also said he doesn't think Trump ended talks over the ad alone.

"It's about finding every excuse in the world not to get a deal," the premier said. "President Trump is not putting a deal together to benefit Canada."

The ad features parts of a 1987 speech in which former U.S. president Ronald Reagan warned tariffs lead to trade wars and damage economies in the long run.

Ford also cast doubt in question period about whether Trump will follow through on his threat to retaliate with the extra tariffs, suggesting the president is bluffing.

“The tariffs aren't going up and they aren't going to go up," Ford said.

When pressed by American reporters for details on the additional 10 per cent tariffs, the president said he didn't know when they would kick in, "but I don't really want to discuss it." 

Trump called Ford's ad campaign dishonest and claimed the Canadians are fighting dirty in the trade battle because Reagan "loved" tariffs — a statement that dismayed Ford.

"I'll tell you one thing, president Reagan was anything but loving tariffs, as Donald Trump said. He hated tariffs," Ford said Monday, adding he encouraged the public to do their own research into Reagan's legacy as a free trader.

Carney spoke with Ford just before leaving for Malaysia on Friday. Later that day, Ford said Ontario would pull the ads after they aired during two World Series games over the weekend. Ford said Carney knew of the ads in advance.

B.C. Premier David Eby has also promised on social media he will unveil a digital campaign about the high cost of softwood lumber tariffs next month to "speak directly to Americans looking to build (a) home or renovate."

Trump and Carney were both at the ASEAN summit and also will be in South Korea at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meetings later this week — but they do not intend to meet.

Trump said he doesn't want to meet Carney at APEC and won't be meeting with him "for a while."

"I'm very happy with the deal we have right now with Canada. We're going to let it ride," he told reporters on Air Force One.

Carney and Trump appeared to be very cordial with one another during a meeting in the Oval Office just a few weeks ago. At the time, Trump praised the prime minister as a "world-class leader" and said he thought the Canadian negotiation team would be very happy with the ultimate deal.

When asked what he thought had gone wrong in his relationship with Trump, Carney said, "That's a question for him."

He said Canadians should take Trump at his word when he says the ad campaign was the reason talks broke down. Some White House officials have claimed in recent days there have been multiple points of friction with the Canadian negotiators.

Carney did not say if he thought the ad was a mistake.

"In any complicated, high-stakes negotiation, you can get unexpected twists and turns and you have to keep your cool during those situations," he said. "It doesn't pay to be upset."

Carney said negotiations with the U.S. have shifted to focus on trade in specific sectors, rather than the broader economic and security pact he had been pitching during the spring and summer.

"The U.S. was less interested in the security element of the partnership, which is their decision," he said.

– Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press

 With files from Allison Jones in Toronto and Kyle Duggan in Ottawa.