Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that he has assigned two cabinet ministers to lead a new “Team Canada” to ensure the country and his government are ready for all possible outcomes from this fall’s U.S. presidential election.
“Canada-U.S. relations are fundamental for the prosperity and well-being of Canadians,” Trudeau told reporters in Montreal, where he is wrapping up two days of meetings with his cabinet.
Trudeau said he has asked Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Minister Mary Ng to work with Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman on “a Team Canada approach” with “businesses, entrepreneurs, organized labour, civil society groups, different orders of government, to make sure that we’re ready to continue to benefit as Canadians from a strong relationship with the United States.”
Hillman is in Montreal to meet with the federal cabinet.
Ministers will also hear Tuesday from Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association; Laura Dawson, executive director of the Future Borders Coalition; and Marc-Andre Blanchard, Canada’s former ambassador to the United Nations and now executive vice-president at the investment group CDPQ Global.
Trump strongly favoured to win GOP nomination
Joe Biden, the incumbent president, is expected to face former president Donald Trump in November’s election. Trump is the overwhelming favourite to win the Republican party’s nomination — and could strengthen his hold on the nomination with a win in the New Hampshire state primary on Tuesday night.
The “engagement strategy” announced by Trudeau on Tuesday resembles the diplomatic effort undertaken by the Liberal government in the wake of Trump’s election in 2016.
Canada and U.S. ‘do best’ when they work together, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday when asked about Donald Trump’s bid for a second term as president.
To buttress Canada’s position in the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations that followed, Canadian officials and leaders fanned out across American political and business sectors to make the case for continued co-operation between the two countries.
“We know there’s always challenges whenever there’s an American election,” Trudeau said on Monday. “But as we have before, we are going to be ready to deal with whatever gets tossed at us and make sure we’re defending Canadian interests and opportunities in a strong relationship.”
