Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revives Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee after Trump win

By Rachel Aiello

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    OTTAWA (CTV Network) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reviving a special cabinet committee dedicated to Canada-U.S. relations, following Republican Donald Trump’s re-election.

The committee will focus on “critical Canada-U.S. issues,” according to a Thursday statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will chair the committee. Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be vice-chair.

Other cabinet ministers on the special committee are:

Transport Minister Anita Anand; Defence Minister Bill Blair; Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne; Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly; Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay; Immigration Minister Marc Miller; International Trade Minister Mary Ng; Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan; and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson

In the wake of Trump securing a second term as president of the United States, Trudeau and his cabinet has sought to offer assurances to Canadians, businesses, and stakeholders that the federal government has a plan to protect domestic interests.

Without offering specifics, ministers cited leveraging existing relationships with Trump’s inner circle, promoting their shared interests in addressing Chinese overcapacity in the auto sector, and drawing attention to how integrated the two countries economies and supply chains are, as central to their planned approach.

“We absolutely have a plan to ensure that Canada not only is okay with this new U.S. administration, but that we absolutely thrive,” Freeland told reporters Wednesday.

Testifying before a parliamentary committee on Thursday, LeBlanc said the cabinet committee has not yet met.

He said in French that the prime minister called him on Wednesday to talk about his role, but he doesn’t yet know what the agenda items will be for the group of ministers when they do gather to discuss the changing dynamics south of the border.

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