Canada has no reason to believe the United States will initiate an early review of the North American free trade agreement, but U.S. officials are interested in addressing economic and security matters, International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says.
LeBlanc made the comments on CBC’s “Rosemary Barton Live,” saying that trade between the two countries remains top of mind for both the Canadian and U.S. governments.
“It’s obvious that we’re not going to wait until the obligatory review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement in 2026 to make progress on the tariffs that have hit us for the last number of months,” LeBlanc said in the May 11 interview. “We have no reason to think, by the way, the Americans are interested in triggering an earlier review of the free trade agreement. They haven’t indicated that to us, but they are interested in discussing how Canada and the United States can work on economic and security issues.”
His comments come on the heels of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, where a working lunch was held with senior officials from both administrations, including LeBlanc. The meeting also included an Oval Office press conference where the president and prime minister held discussions and fielded questions from the media.
LeBlanc said Trump “spoke favourably or more constructively about the agreement” than he has in the past, while accusing him of no longer “respecting the agreement” he signed during his first term in office.
Trump indicated during his meeting with Carney last week that he’s open to renegotiating the free trade agreement, describing it as beneficial for all the countries involved, but added that unless adjustments are made, the agreement may need to be abandoned entirely. The U.S. president has insisted the tariffs put on Canada are not about pushing for a new deal.
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The U.S. has imposed a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian products, including auto parts, that are not compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum, and a 10 percent tariff on energy and potash.
LeBlanc said the Trump administration is “interested” in discussing how the two countries can work together on economic and security issues “and hopefully that partnership will lead to the removal of the tariff.”
Trump and his key trade representatives will be travelling abroad this week, Leblanc said, but noted that Ottawa hopes to devise a “short-term work plan” which could result in the lifting of specific tariffs once they return to Washington.
“Our hope is to very quickly get to work over the next 10 days,” LeBlanc said, noting that Trump will be in Alberta for June’s G7 summit. “We hope to make some progress before then, but we’re just going to keep our shoulders to the wheel until we get the outcomes that Canadians expect.”
Sovereignty Comments
Aside from imposing tariffs on Canada, Trump has continued to float the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state both to the press and in social media posts over the past six months.
LeBlanc said he is hopeful such comments will be put to rest now that Trump and Carney have met face-to-face, but noted that the president is notoriously unpredictable.
“I hope and believe it will be different, but our hopes have been dashed in this regard before,” he said.
Trump told reporters during his Oval Office meeting with Carney last week that discussions regarding Canada’s statehood were not part of the agenda, but the president still reiterated his wish for Canada to join the United States when the topic was brought up by reporters present in the room.
Trump repeated his previous comments about the “artificially drawn line” separating the two countries. “It would really be a wonderful marriage because it’s two places that get along very well,” said Trump.
“It’s not for sale. Won’t be for sale ever,” Carney replied, to which Trump later remarked, “Never say never.”
LeBlanc said Carney’s “firm” response to the president’s 51st state comment was noted by the president during the pair’s working lunch the same day.
“I think the Prime Minister has been clear publicly and privately, our job is to focus on substantive elements of progress,” he said, adding that ongoing 51st state comments would be “destructive to getting us to a trade agreement.”
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told reporters after the meeting at the White House last week that Trump’s 51st state idea is a thing of the past, even if he does make mention of it from time-to-time.
“It’s done,” the ambassador said in an interview last week. “From my standpoint, from the president’s standpoint, 51st state’s not coming back.”
