Canada-U.S. relations in focus on final day of Liberal cabinet retreat

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says the Canadian and American economies are more integrated than ever, which should act as a buffer against the threat of U.S. protectionism.

Champagne and his fellow Liberal ministers on Tuesday will hold their third and final day of meetings at a winter cabinet retreat in preparation for the upcoming parliamentary sitting.

Economics and affordability dominated the first two days of talks but on Tuesday things will shift international.

Specifically, cabinet will be discussing the upcoming United States presidential election and the very real prospect that former president Donald Trump will be returned to the White House.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada is preparing for any potential outcome in the 2024 race for the White House, be it the re-election of President Joe Biden or a second chance for Trump.

Champagne says the Canadian and U.S. economies have always been intertwined but are even more so now, and millions of jobs in both countries depend on that stability.

“One thing that I think former president Trump understands is jobs. And now jobs, millions of jobs, depend on what we have achieved over the last decade,” Champagne told reporters in Montreal on Monday.

“So that economic integration, I think, is going to be a key for the future.”

That includes, he said semiconductors, biotechnology and the auto sector. In 2022 Canada lobbied hard for an exemption to a provision in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to ensure electric vehicles made with Canadian batteries or components would still qualify for major U.S. tax credits.

That carve out — initially the credits were much stricter about America-only content — helped Canada secure several major battery plants last