Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reinstating a special cabinet committee dedicated to Canada-U.S. relations following the re-election of Republican Donald Trump.
A Thursday statement from the prime minister’s office said the committee will focus on “key issues in Canada and the United States.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland will chair the committee. Dominique Leblanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, will be the vice-chair.
Other ministers on the special committee are:
- Transport Minister Anita Anand.
- Defense Minister Bill Blair.
- François-Philippe Champagne Minister of Innovation.
- Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly.
- Minister of Agriculture Lawrence Macaulay.
- Immigration Minister Mark Miller.
- Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade;
- Harjit Sajjan, Minister of Emergency Preparedness. and
- Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson
With Mr. Trump secured a second term as U.S. president, Prime Minister Trudeau and his cabinet will assure Canadians, businesses and stakeholders that the federal government has a plan to protect domestic interests. I have been trying.
Although they did not provide specifics, the ministers said a central part of their planned approach would be to leverage existing relationships with President Trump’s inner circle and share a common goal of addressing China’s overcapacity in the auto sector. He cited promoting interests and focusing attention on how the two countries’ economies and supply chains are integrated.
“We absolutely have a plan to ensure that Canada is not only OK with this new administration in the United States, but certainly thrives,” Freeland told reporters Wednesday.
LeBlanc testified before a parliamentary committee on Thursday and said the Cabinet committee had not yet met.
He said in French that the prime minister had called him on Wednesday to discuss his role, but it remains to be seen what will be on the agenda when a group of ministers meet to discuss the changing dynamics south of the border. He said he didn’t know.
