Carney to unveil new Canada-U.S. advisory council as USMCA talks loom

Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney gives remarks at an ArcelorMittal Dofasco facility in Hamilton, Ont., on March 29. Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is unveiling a new Canada-U.S. advisory council to offer guidance as a potential rocky review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) gets underway. Two sources familiar with the council say the announcement is expected Tuesday. The Globe is not identifying the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The council will be similar to the Prime Minister’s Council on Canada-U.S. Relations established in mid-January 2025 by then prime minister Justin Trudeau and which later met with Mr. Carney after he took office in March that year. Analysis: Canada and Mexico on different paths heading into USMCA crunch time Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister for Canada-U.S. trade relations, may play a leadership role, the sources said. It’s likely Janice Charette, Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator to the United States, and Michael Sabia, Clerk of the Privy Council, may also take part in some capacity, they said. Mr. Trudeau struck the previous advisory group in advance of Donald Trump ’s imminent return to the White House and after the president-elect had warned of big tariffs on Canada and Mexico and his team had cast doubt on the future of USMCA. The previous council, whose membership counted about 20 people, included former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Canada’s then-ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman, former Canadian envoy David MacNaughton as well as business leaders including executive chair of the board of Linamar Corp. Linda Hasenfratz, Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association president Flavio Volpe, as well as former chief trade negotiator Steve Verheul. On Sunday, Mr. Carney told Canadians in a video address that Canada’s close ties to the U.S. have become “weaknesses” that must be corrected. While he never mentioned Mr. Trump by name, the Prime Minister said the U.S. “has changed and we must respond.” “We can’t control the disruption coming from our neighbours. We can’t bet our future in the hope that it will suddenly stop. But we can control what happens here,” he added. Carney says close ties to U.S. have become ‘weaknesses’ that must be corrected Mr. Carney released the video two days after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called the current North American trade agreement a “bad deal” for Americans that may be allowed to “lapse” this summer. Mr. Lutnick slammed Mr. Carney for trying to lessen Canada’s dependence on the U.S. by striking trade deals with China. He said it was “nuts” for Mr. Carney to let Chinese auto makers sell electric vehicles in Canada. The salvo was the latest in a series of critiques of Canadian trade policy from the U.S. president and members of his administration. “He gets on a plane and he goes to China. Does he think China, the Chinese economy is going to buy his stuff? China is entirely an export-driven economy,” Mr. Lutnick said. “He came back and said, oh, we’ll take their electric cars. I mean, is this nuts?” United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said earlier this month that he doesn’t expect negotiations on the United States Mexico Canada Agreement to be resolved by July 1. Under the USMCA, On July 1, the partners can agree to renew the deal for 16 years. If they don’t, they begin a process of annual reviews that continue for 10 years, after which the agreement ends. Any of the three partners can also withdraw from the agreement with six months’ notice. ~With files from Andrew Willis, Marie Woolf and Mark Rendell and Canadian Press