LeBlanc sets up talks with U.S. trade rep next week in Washington

OTTAWA — Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday he will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer late next week in Washington, D.C.

The discussion comes as both countries prepare for the mandatory review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade.

LeBlanc told the Canadian Club Toronto that he’s “not pessimistic” about the future of the trilateral trade deal because the U.S. maintained a CUSMA exemption when President Donald Trump announced new tariffs recently.

“So, they’re doing that because it’s in the American economic interest to do that,” he said.

“American business leaders and American business associations are also speaking up more now than perhaps six months ago.”

The minister added American officials have been engaged in a “political argument” about trade in public, but insisted that’s not the case behind closed doors.

“There is a public prosecution of the argument, the political argument in the United States, and there are the private government-to-government-to-government conversations, which are not discouraging,” LeBlanc said.

LeBlanc, who recently returned from a trade mission to Mexico, told the Canadian Club Toronto that both Canada and Mexico want to see the U.S. commit to CUSMA.

The minister added that while both countries want to see a healthy trilateral trade deal, Canada and Mexico are looking for more opportunities to trade directly with each other.

Canada is still feeling the impact of sectoral U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, lumber and the auto sector.

LeBlanc said he felt Canada was close to getting a deal on sectoral tariffs in the fall, before Trump abruptly ended talks in response to an anti-tariff TV ad produced by the Ontario government.

He told the Toronto crowd that Canada is ready to resume those discussions and any talks would be adjacent to the CUSMA review.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press