New Canada-U.S. advisory council includes former premiers, ex-Conservative leader

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'I'm very pleased to have that group': PM Carney praises new members of CUSMA council

Federal government unveils new team to help with CUSMA negotiations

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney has unveiled a new Canada-U.S. advisory council ahead of a formal CUSMA review process this summer.

The council is made up of some members from the previous council while adding former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, former Conservative cabinet minister Lisa Raitt, former premiers P.J. Akeeagok and Jean Charest, as well as former Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Ralph Goodale.

The new advisory committee on Canada-U.S. Economic Relations will be chaired by the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs, Internal Trade and One Canadian Economy, Dominic LeBlanc.

According to a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office Tuesday, “The committee will serve as a forum for expertise and strategy on all aspects of the Canada-U.S. economic relationship.”

“This new Advisory Committee ensures that government is drawing on the best advice and the broadest perspectives to advance Canada’s economic interests. Our goal is a strong economic partnership with the United States that creates greater certainty, security, and prosperity for all,” said Carney in a statement.

The original council was set up by then-prime minister Justin Trudeau in January of 2025, following the launch of Donald Trump’s trade war. It was populated by former politicians like Rachel Notley and Jean Charest, then-ambassador Kirsten Hillman and former ambassador David MacNaughton, former national security advisor Jody Thomas, as well as labour and industry stakeholders.

Other members of the new council include Aluminium Association of Canada CEO Jean Simard, Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association president Flavio Volpe and Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing.

Carney has also added Bank of Montreal CEO Darryl White, Canadian National Railway president and CEO Tracy Robinson, ArcelorMittal Dofasco CEO Ron Bédard CEO, Nutrien president and CEO Ken Seitz president and TC Energy president and CEO Francois Poirier.

“It’s a diverse group. Leaders in from the union movement, experts in industry and CEOs in finance and across the economy,” Carney told reporters before a cabinet meeting.

It comes two days after the prime minister released a 10-minute-long video speaking directly to Canadians about how the U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach on trade, citing the punishing tariffs levied against the steel, aluminum, copper, lumber and automotive industries in this country.

“Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses; weaknesses that we must correct,” Carney said in the video. “The U.S. has changed and we must respond.”

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre had a lukewarm reaction to the new council, saying Carney was elected on a promise to “negotiate a win” with the Americans.

“The only talks that Mark Carney is doing are YouTube videos where he’s comparing himself to Sir Isaac Brock and holding up little figurines in his office,” Poilievre said. “So he told all of you the other day that with his new majority, he was going to stop showboating, and then a few days later, he put out a showboating YouTube video”.

Poilievre has pitched a plan to implement a tariff-free auto pact with the U.S. as a way of repairing relations between the two countries.

“I’ve laid out an extremely detailed plan to counter American tariffs and to fight for US trade. My position is clear. Build up leverage,” Poilievre said. “Use that leverage to get rid of American tariffs on aluminum, steel, autos and lumber”.

United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said it’s unlikely the U.S. will resolve all its trade issues with Canada and Mexico before the July 1 deadline to renegotiation the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement or CUSMA. In mid-March, Greer also told Fox Business that Canada was behind Mexico on trade discussions.

On Monday, Greer met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for a bilateral discussion on trade and economic relations ahead of the CUSMA review deadline.

According to a readout from Greer’s office, the trade representative thanked Sheinbaum for her strong leadership in expanding U.S.-Mexico bilateral co-operation.

Greer and Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard concluded their meeting by agreeing to schedule a first official bilateral negotiating round for the CUSMA review on the week of May 25, in Mexico City. No such meeting has been scheduled between Canada and the U.S.