Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is capable of “managing” the Republican favorite for the presidential elections in the United States, Donald Trump, should he return to the White House.
“We knew how to manage Mr. Trump well by defending Canadian interests,” he underlined on the sidelines of a meeting of his Council of Ministers in downtown Montreal on Tuesday.
Mr. Trudeau has had three tenants of the White House since coming to power in 2015, namely Barak Obama (2009-2017), Donald Trump (2017-2021) and Joe Biden (2021-?). Even if “there is no American president who is easy for a Canadian prime minister”, “Mr. Trump represents a certain… uncertainty”, he explained less than 10 months before the American presidential elections. “We don’t know exactly what he’s going to bring,” he added.
Between 2017 and 2021, the Trudeau government had to counter the Trump government’s attacks on the supply management system and the production of steel and aluminum in Canada, as well as to “manage” its desire to “tear apart » the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), recalled Justin Trudeau at a press conference. “We were able to manage these very difficult situations by remaining anchored in [l’esprit d’une] economic growth shared between our two countries. »
Defend Canadian interests
The Canadian Prime Minister instructed Ministers François Philippe-Champagne (Innovation, Science and Industry) and Mary Ng (International Trade) to set up a new “Team Canada” — made up of “experts,” “leaders of businesses, unions and universities,” as well as “provincial and territorial partners” — in order to “promote” and “defend” Canada’s interests in the United States now.
Team Canada will work to “demonstrate that the American interest is to have good relations [avec le Canada] and good integration with the Canadian economy”, regardless of who wins the November 5 vote.
Further details will follow.