HALIFAX—Canada’s ambassador to Washington downplayed concerns that a possible return of Donald Trump to the White House would create problems for Canada-U.S. trade flows, border security and defence spending.
Ambassador Kirsten Hillman briefed the federal Liberal cabinet three times over two days on her work to prepare for either a Trump Republican or Kamala Harris administration.
“I don’t think we have any reason to be concerned under, to be frank, either administration,” said Hillman. Republicans and Democrats both value the Canada-U.S. relationship, election rhetoric aside, she told reporters.
Former president Trump has threatened to impose 10 per cent tariffs on all global imports and Hillman said “candidate Trump has thoughts” on tariffs that “could be complicated” for Canada, but she predicted Washington would find it is ultimately not feasible to apply them in Canada’s case.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne later suggested the sheer volume of things Canada sells to the United States and integration of the two economies would make it practically impossible to apply hikes across the board.
Trump’s former deputy international trade representative C.J. Mahoney and Canada’s former lead trade negotiator Steve Verheul also briefed cabinet. They agreed that on trade and economic policy, Hillman said, there are “similarities” in positions taken by the two rival American campaigns, and she reminded the federal cabinet the other big player is the U.S. Congress.
“Congress has a law-making power separate from the administration, and there are nuanced and different views within both parties through congressional representatives, and those are the representatives that have legislative authority to do a lot of the trade actions that both candidates are talking about.”
Hillman, Champagne and International Trade Minister Mary Ng, who are behind a so-called Team Canada effort to prepare for whatever a Trump or Harris victory might bring, said they have visited 33 states, and met with 42 governors since January to underline the mutual benefit of the Canada-U.S. relationship, especially as the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on free trade is up for review in 2026.
Hillman was invited at both the Republican and the Democrat national conventions to participate in policy sessions with regional lawmakers, and Canadian officials have clear ideas where both parties stand, she said.
Addressing Republican campaign talk that the northern border is porous and represents a terror risk to U.S. homeland security, or that Canada is a laggard on defence spending, Hillman said the rhetoric that gets “amplified” in the lead up to an election is different from reality on the ground.
Canadians should understand that “we are appreciated and we are well liked, if that’s the right word, but seen as strategic partners throughout the United States of America.”
“I don’t believe that there is any kind of anti-Canadian sentiment within the Republican Party,” Hillman said. “I have spent months and months visiting Republicans across the country who are the closest allies of former president Trump, and there isn’t a single meeting where I wasn’t received with open arms and enthusiasm towards what Canada and the United States can do together,” Hillman said.
As for what a Harris administration would bring, Hillman said Canadian officials are in talks with Harris’ policy advisers and monitoring her statements on the campaign trail, and have concluded that Harris holds “a lot of the similar positions that the Biden administration has had.”
