OTTAWA – Associates of former prime minister Brian Mulroney say Ronald Reagan’s embrace of free trade and rejection of tariffs grew out of the late U.S. president’s relationship with his Canadian counterpart.

David McLaughlin and Geoff Norquay, who worked as senior policy advisers for Mulroney, also say Reagan’s views on trade are not being misconstrued by the ads running in American markets that triggered U.S. President Donald Trump.

“When Mr. Mulroney decided to pursue free trade with the U.S., he recognized that job one was to get President Reagan on side,” Norquay told The Canadian Press on Friday.

Trump abruptly called off trade talks with Canada Thursday over ads paid for by the Ontario government running on U.S. TV stations that feature archival footage of Reagan warning about th

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