Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for the federal cabinet retreat in Montreal, on Jan. 22.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Trade Minister Mary Ng will lead Canada’s preparations for a volatile year in the United States that could see Donald Trump return to the White House.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that the federal government is reviving the Team Canada approach that it employed during the first Trump presidency, when it was forced into talks to renegotiate the North American free-trade agreement.
Mr. Trudeau made the announcement on the last day of his cabinet retreat in Montreal, where he was gathering with his senior team to map out a strategy for the government as it struggles to get a handle on domestic headwinds, such as the affordability crisis, while navigating an unpredictable year ahead with Canada’s most important economic and security ally.
“Mr. Trump represents a certain amount of unpredictability, but we will make sure we’re pulling together and preparing for whatever eventualities,” Mr. Trudeau said at his closing press conference
He added that he wants to ”work constructively with whatever American administration is in place” after the November election.
The agenda for the final day of the cabinet retreat was focused on the U.S. election, with a presentation from Canada’s Ambassador to the United States, Kirsten Hillman, and former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations Marc-André Blanchard.
The two were joined by Laura Dawson, executive director of the Future Borders Coalition, and Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association. Both Ms. Dawson and Mr. Volpe told The Globe and Mail last week that the federal government should relaunch their Team Canada approach.
Mr. Trump is still competing for the Republican nomination but he is leading his opponents by a wide margin. Public opinion polling in the United States suggests that if Mr. Trump topped the GOP ticket, he would be competitive with Democratic President Joe Biden.
A senior government official told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Trudeau’s team believes a victory for Mr. Trump in November would be incredibly destabilizing and have a significant impact on Canada. The source said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is already meeting with other foreign ministers in countries such as Britain, Germany and Mexico to bolster other relations.
That tack is being employed in part because they said Mr. Trump’s first administration was marked by a divide-and-conquer approach and Canada is proactively trying to avoid a repeat of that.
The Globe is not identifying the official because they were not authorized to disclose the government’s strategy.
Over the the last week, Liberal ministers have repeatedly pointed to their experience during the first Trump presidency to show they have what it takes to navigate a second one. Asked on Tuesday if he would do anything differently if there is a second time, Mr. Trudeau suggested that he wouldn’t.
“What works with all American presidents is to demonstrate that what is good for Canada is also good for the United States and vice versa,” he said. “The Canadian approach is the same. It’s standing up for Canadian values and Canadian interests.”
He said Mr. Champagne and Ms. Ng will co-lead the strategy along with Ms. Hillman, with the goal to “promote and defend Canada’s interests in and with the United States.”
The group will also bring in business, labour and provincial and territorial leaders, he said.
Ms. Hillman told reporters that the work will build on what her team already does in Washington by making sure more advocacy is happening across the U.S. rather than just in Washington. She said the group will identify gaps in its diplomacy, including who Canada is talking to.
“This is a really important year,” she said. The goal is to “deploy Canadians to the U.S. to talk with their counterparts about the importance and the strength of our relationship.”
The Prime Minister and his ministers were careful Tuesday not to criticize Mr. Trump, but in their political advertising and in the House of Commons, they have been invoking the former president with more frequency as they try to tie Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to Mr. Trump’s politics.
Mr. Trudeau has taken to calling Mr. Poilievre’s party “MAGA Conservatives” – a reference to Mr. Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan. The Liberal Party has also released several videos attacking Mr. Poilievre by butting together clips of him and Mr. Trump commenting on topics such as the media, support for Ukraine and the 2022 trucker convoy.
Pollster Nik Nanos said tying Mr. Poilievre to Mr. Trump is one of the few options that the Liberals have as they try to reverse their slide in the polls and turn voters against the Conservative Leader. But he cautioned that it is a risk.
“It’s a very fine line to tread,” Mr. Nanos said. “It was difficult in the first Trump administration, and poisoning that, especially if Trump does win the presidency could spell for extremely poor relations between Canada and the United States.”