Feds to launch Canada-U.S. engagement strategy as presidential election looms
Canada survived the unpredictable nature of the first Trump administration by promoting shared interests on both sides of the border, and that approach won't change no matter who wins the next presidential election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
Canada-U.S. relations dominated the final day of discussions at a three-day cabinet retreat in Montreal, after two days focused mostly on economics, affordability and housing.
"We know there's always challenges whenever there's an American election, but as we have before, we're going to be ready to deal with whatever gets tossed at us and make sure we're defending Canadians' interests and opportunities in this strong relationship," Trudeau said at a news conference.
He named Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador in Washington, alongside Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and International Trade Minister Mary Ng to lead a new "Team Canada engagement strategy."
They will work with businesses, unions, civil society organizations and other levels of government to push Canada's interests all across the United States.
The ballot for the presidential vote is not yet set, but Donald Trump is the clear front-runner for the Republican nomination, setting up a rematch with President Joe Biden this November.
It's in that context that Trudeau's party has been setting out to make Canadians see Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre -- the current front-runner in political polls -- as a Trump-like figure in Canada.
Many Canadians still have battle scars from Trump's tumultuous years in office, which featured a difficult renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the imposition of damaging steel and aluminum tariffs.
Trudeau was already prime minister when Trump was first elected president.
Canada "made it through the challenges represented by the Trump administration" between 2017 and 2021 by pushing the notion that "Canada and the U.S. do best when we do it together," he said Tuesday.
"Obviously, Mr. Trump represents a certain amount of unpredictability, but we will make sure we're pulling together and preparing for any eventualities," he said.
Hillman, who was part of a panel on U.S.-Canada relations that participated in the cabinet meeting Tuesday, said there is always a measure of diplomacy and Canadian promotion happening in her job.
She said the new approach will be similar but possibly more targeted both in Canada and in the U.S.
"This is a really important year," she said, adding that Canadian advocates need to be "very deliberate" about mapping out any gaps in who they're reaching out to and where.
Champagne said it's time for "doubling down" on existing efforts.
Earlier at the retreat, Champagne said the government is prepared for any outcome because it was last time, too.
He also said the Canadian and American economies are more integrated than ever, which should act as a buffer against the threat of U.S. protectionism.
"One thing that I think former president Trump understands is jobs. And now jobs, millions of jobs, depend on what we have achieved over the last decade," Champagne told reporters in Montreal on Monday.
"So that economic integration, I think, is going to be a key for the future."
That includes co-operation on semiconductors, biotechnology and the auto sector, he said.
In 2022, Canada lobbied hard for an exemption to a provision in Biden's Inflation Reduction Act to ensure electric vehicles made with Canadian batteries or components would still qualify for major U.S. tax credits.
At first, the credits had been much stricter about America-only content, but that carve-out helped Canada secure several major battery plants last year.
Laura Dawson, an expert on Canada-U.S. relations and the current executive director of the Future Borders Coalition, was on the panel with Hillman on Tuesday.
She said in an interview before the meeting that Canada needs to be prepared no matter who wins, because both Biden and Trump have protectionist tendencies.
"It's an important time for really taking stock of that relationship, reinvesting in that relationship, because for both Canada and the United States, it is of existential importance for both economics and security," she said in an interview.
Dawson said there is work to be done on more effective and integrated supply chains for both economic and national security purposes.
The prospect of a Trump presidency, said Dawson, requires "much more direct action from Canada right now."
"We know what Trump 1.0 was like for Canada and that was a challenge," she said.
"But I don't feel like that experience makes Canada really well-prepared for Trump 2.0. Because even though we understand what that individual is like, he is much more prepared to launch a very aggressive America-first campaign ... right out of the gates that's going to, I think, significantly impact Canada in a negative way."
Dawson said Canada needs to start a national charm offensive now, sending ministers, consuls general, premiers and industry leaders to meet with U.S. lawmakers, particularly Republicans, to put Canada's message on the radar.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½
Tensions flare between Poilievre and Singh in the House after NDP says it will back Trudeau Liberals
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh got into a heated exchange in the House of Commons on Thursday, just minutes after Singh announced his party would not be supporting the Conservatives' first non-confidence motion against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.
The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.
Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.
B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.
PM Trudeau names Anita Anand transport minister after Pablo Rodriguez quits cabinet
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped Treasury Board President Anita Anand to take on additional duties as Canada's minister of transport on Thursday.
Canadian women among those who allege Harrods boss sexually abused them
CTV News has learned there are multiple Canadian women alleging they were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of the late Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including machine-guns
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including more than 120 handguns and at least five fully automatic weapons like machine-guns.
Shohei Ohtani becomes the first major league player with 50 homers, 50 stolen bases in a season
Shohei Ohtani became the first major league player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, with the Los Angeles Dodgers star going deep twice to reach the half-century mark and swiping two bags to get to 51 against the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.
Local Spotlight
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.
A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.