Canada’s ambassador to Washington says no reason to be ‘concerned’ by either return of Trump or Harris victory

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Canada should not be concerned by the prospect of either a return of Donald Trump or the victory of Kamala Harris in November’s U.S. election, the Canadian ambassador to Washington said Tuesday, even as the presidential campaign dominated the agenda of the federal cabinet retreat.

Ambassador Kirsten Hillman was in Halifax for much of the three-day retreat, at which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet planned their fall agenda. Mr. Trudeau faces persistent domestic headwinds over his popularity and the economic mood of the country, but the U.S. election still was a strong focus each day of the meetings.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan addressed the ministers on Sunday, followed on Monday by Mr. Trump’s former deputy trade representative, C.J. Mahoney. On Tuesday, Ms. Hillman and former Canadian ambassadors to Washington David MacNaughton and Frank McKenna spoke to the cabinet.

“I don’t think we have any reason to be concerned under, to be frank, either administration,” Ms. Hillman told reporters.

She said Mr. Trump’s global tariff proposal “could be complicated for Canada,” but also noted that it will be very difficult for the U.S. to apply it to its northern neighbour. Mr. Trump has suggested imposing a minimum 10-per-cent tariff on all imports to the U.S., and a much higher tax on goods coming from China.

Mr. Trump’s presidency largely derailed Mr. Trudeau’s agenda in his first mandate as Prime Minister, forcing the government to spend much of its energy renegotiating the North American free-trade agreement and contending with issues such as tariffs on steel and aluminum.

While Joe Biden has brought a different style and less disruption to the relationship with Canada, he has instituted protectionist policies that Canada has had to lobby against, such as his made-in-America policy for electric vehicles.

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As Canada tries to position itself to deal with whatever new U.S. administration takes over in January, Mr. MacNaughton said the federal government will have to do more than its Team Canada strategy.

During the first Trump presidency, the Prime Minister’s Office took what it called a Team Canada approach to the U.S. administration in which it brought together politicians from other levels of government and senior business leaders to aggressively make the case for Canada at all levels of U.S. public life in the hopes of avoiding punitive trade measures.

The government revived that approach at its last cabinet retreat in January.

In an interview, Mr. MacNaughton said the federal government needs to offer co-operation to the White House on its priorities at the same time that it’s asking for some concessions for Canada. For example, he said Canada could look at options such as helping with problems in Haiti or Venezuela and doing more to contribute to North American energy security in areas such as the electrical grid.

Mr. Trudeau’s decision on Monday to follow the United States in imposing tariffs on electric vehicles from China is a good example, he said. “We can’t just add demands to their plate, we also have to take something off it,” Mr. MacNaughton told The Globe.

Whether the next president is a Republican or Democrat, Ms. Hillman said the two parties share many of the same objectives, including improving economic growth, jobs, national security and energy security.

“There are differences in point of view as to how those two parties wish to attain those objectives, but the core objectives are the same,” Ms. Hillman said in French. “What is important is that we bring our message to American interlocutors as to how we can help them attain these objectives.”

“Maybe we present ideas in a different way,” she added.

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Since the government brought back its Team Canada approach, Ms. Hillman said Canadian officials have travelled to about 33 states and met with 42 governors.

“We need to make sure that we are present and we are in the minds of American lawmakers from across the country and from both parties as they are developing their policies,” she said.

The cabinet ended its retreat on a low-key note, with no closing press conference from Mr. Trudeau. The only domestic policy announcement came from Treasury Board President Anita Anand, who said she was immediately establishing a working group on productivity.

Earlier this year, the Bank of Canada warned of a low-productivity emergency and said the country’s standard of living could slip because of it. Ms. Anand said her goal is to improve productivity and “further grow the pie for this country.”

However, her office said the group hasn’t yet been established, its membership isn’t yet confirmed and there is no start date for its meetings. Spokesperson Myah Tomasi said the committee will deliver on its mandate by spring.

With a report from Bill Curry in Ottawa