Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with premiers on the Canada-U.S. relationship

CANADA, November 27 - Canada and the United States have one of the closest and most enduring friendships in the world. Our trade relationship supports millions of good jobs for people in both countries. We share the longest and most secure border on Earth, over which nearly $3.6 billion worth of goods and services cross daily. Canada is a bigger market for the U.S. than France, the United Kingdom, China, and Japan combined. Our deep defence and security partnerships help keep people safe across North America, with intertwined defence industries and collaboration between our law enforcement agencies. The continued security and integrity of the Canada-U.S. border is critical to this relationship and remains a top priority for all orders of government.

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, alongside the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic Leblanc, and Canada’s Ambassador to the United States, Kirsten Hillman, held a virtual First Ministers’ Meeting to discuss the Canada-U.S. relationship. The Prime Minister and premiers discussed how the federal and provincial governments should work together through a Team Canada approach to further strengthen Canada’s close relationship with the U.S. and ensure both countries work together in areas of mutual interest. This includes fostering trade and investment, upholding the safety and integrity of our shared border, sustaining cross-border supply chains, and supporting Canadian and American manufacturing sectors. The Prime Minister underscored that the federal government has made significant investments to disrupt the scourge of fentanyl from China and other countries as well to ensure strong border management and enforcement. The Prime Minister emphasized that the number of migrants attempting to travel from Canada to the United States is a fraction of the numbers of those attempting to travel from Mexico to the United States.

The Prime Minister highlighted that the economic relationship with Canada is one of the United States’ greatest competitive advantages in the context of global strategic uncertainty. Prime Minister Trudeau reiterated his ongoing commitment to work with premiers in promoting Canada as a secure and reliable trade partner, including in critical minerals, natural resources, and energy. He reiterated that Canada will continue to strengthen supply chain integration and its contributions to continental and global security. The Prime Minister underscored that a 25 per cent tariff would be damaging to both Canadian and American workers alike and would lead to job losses on both sides of the border. The Deputy Prime Minister called on premiers to make use of all of their contacts, channels, and abilities to relay important information and messages to Americans and people of influence.

The United States has no more reliable ally nor steadier friend than Canada. The leaders agreed to continue working closely together to advocate for Canada’s interests and the deep economic ties that drive prosperity on both sides of the border, across all sectors of the economy.