Unlike some other countries, Canada appears to have come up with an effective strategy in dealing with the Trump administration.
Unlike some other countries, Canada appears to have come up with an effective strategy in dealing with the Trump administration.
According to a New York Times report, “nearly every level of government in Canada has taken on new duties in a quietly audacious campaign to cajole, contain and if necessary coerce the Americans.”
The team includes former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney whom the Toronto Star calls “Canada’s unofficial Trump-whisperer.”
The newspaper explains that Mulroney, a friend of both President Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, has been advising Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other Liberal party officials on the U.S. administration; one issue that has reportedly been discussed includes NAFTA, the continental trade agreement set for renegotiation in the coming months.
The New York Times reports that Canada’s foreign minister Chrystia Freeland is also said to have staffed her team with some who have connections to the Trump White House like Andrew Leslie, a U.S. veteran.
Despite such efforts, she has openly expressed disappointment in many of the president's policies, saying in a speech earlier this month, “The fact that our friend and ally has come to question the very worth of its mantle of global leadership puts in sharper focus the need for the rest of us to set our own clear and sovereign course.”
However, the relationship between Canada and the U.S. appears to be an important one for both sides to maintain given the $627 billion worth of trade that occurred in 2016.
