Trudeau, Trump to launch agency to promote women

WASHINGTON • With a push from first daughter Ivanka Trump, Canada and the U.S. will launch a task force called the United States Canada Council for the Advancement of Women Business Leaders-Female Entrepreneurs after President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meet for the first time today.

A White House official says Trudeau’s office reached out to discuss working on a joint effort, noting that this was seen as an area of shared interest between both leaders.

Trump and Trudeau will participate in a round table discussion about women in the workforce. The event shows the rising policy influence of Ivanka Trump, who has stressed her commitment to issues like child care and policies benefiting working women.

The White House official says Ivanka Trump was involved in recruiting participants and will attend herself.

Meanwhile, the past, present and potential future of the federal Conservative party offered their Liberal rivals an unprecedented show of solidarity Sunday on the eve of Trudeau’s first meeting with Trump.

The olive branch reflects a shared understanding that crosses the traditional partisan divide: that Canadian jobs depend on a strong relationship with the U.S. regardless of who might be residing in the White House.

Recalling one of the tightest relationships between a prime minister and an unpopular president, Derek Burney — a confidant of former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney — called his former boss’s relationship with Ronald Reagan “the prime example of getting along with Americans,” one that could prove useful for Trudeau.