Will PM’s ‘dudeplomacy’ work on Trump?
Trudeau to turn on charm offensive to protect $541 billion in annual trade with U.S.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with Donald Trump next week as the president’s protectionist push threatens $541 billion in annual trade between Canada and the U.S.
Trudeau will visit Washington on Monday, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. The visit is expected to be a far cry from the warm state dinner thrown by Barack Obama for Trudeau a year earlier — a close relationship later termed “dudeplomacy.”
But Trudeau will still have to try to charm the president on a visit where thorns loom large. The U.S. pledge to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement prompted Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet to mount a wide-reaching lobbying effort to preach the gospel of Canadian trade.
A Trump ally sought to reassure Canada in January that its trade ties — roughly in balance — were not the primary target, and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland has since found a receptive ear in Washington.
Trudeau tweeted on Thursday, “Strong Canada-U.S. ties help the middle class in both our countries.”
“Monday, I’ll meet @realDonaldTrump in D.C. to keep working for that goal.”
The White House announced the encounter at its daily press briefing, where spokesman Sean Spicer said, “The president looks forward to a constructive conversation in strengthening the deep relationship that exists between the United States and Canada.”
The first official meeting follows weeks of back-and-forth about setting a tangible agenda beyond pleasantries and first-encounter photo ops.
Several people familiar with the planning said uncertainty about the date lingered for a reason — the Canadian side wanted specific results, while the American administration is still busy getting its cabinet confirmed.
The scheduling drama was further fuelled by a spectacular public rift between Trump and the president of Mexico last month, scrubbing plans for a potential trilateral meeting of the continent’s Three Amigos.
Canada has been at pains to emphasize the nine million American jobs tied to trade between the countries.
The Canadian government keeps repeating that number again and again. It’s working to drill that figure into the memory of every American it meets. Different cabinet ministers were in Washington this week, reciting that statistic with metronomic regularity.
One analyst of Canada-U.S. relations said Canada has one major advantage working for it right now: Trump could use some productive international relationships.
The Mexicans are furious. Hostile phone conversations with the leaders of Australia and France have been leaked to the media. The leaders of the U.K. and Spain have extended an olive branch — only to face a backlash from their own citizens.
“Trump is looking for some victories right now,” said Laura Dawson, of Washington’s Canada Institute at the Wilson Center.