Canada’s finance minister said Wednesday that, despite what Ontario Premier Doug Ford is claiming, the government will not be renegotiating or reviewing North America’s free trade agreement during a meeting Thursday with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
The Washington, D.C. meeting was negotiated by Ford in exchange for the suspension of his province’s 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to Michigan, New York and Minnesota. He called Lutnick’s offer “an olive branch” and said a “renewed USMCA” would be discussed ahead of the United States’ April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline.
However, federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who will be joining Ford in Washington, said this was not the case.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, LeBlanc said he would not be discussing the renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — also known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) south of the border — at the meeting tomorrow. He reiterated that CUSMA reviews fall within federal jurisdiction and said it will be reviewed in 2026 as scheduled, adding that no one has formally asked for an earlier review.
The goal of the meeting with Lutnick, LeBlanc said, will focus on lifting U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
“The discussion tomorrow is not about renegotiating the USMCA. That is not part of the conversation tomorrow,” he said. “The conversation tomorrow will be: what can we do to deal with this completely unjustified application of tariffs to steel and aluminum from Canada.”
LeBlanc said that if one of the three parties — Canada, the U.S. or Mexico — wants to begin the review earlier, he is open to it as long as there is a “coherent conversation.”
This rhetoric is different from that of Ontario’s premier, who said in his joint statement with Lutnick that the trade agreement would be on the table.
In a social media post today, after a meeting with prime minister-designate Mark Carney, Ford said the “olive branch” Lutnick offered was “to start a conversation about the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.”
“Over the coming weeks and months, I’m going to work with Secretary Lutnick, our federal partners and every premier in good faith toward a free trade deal that’s fair for both countries.”
Speaking with reporters at Queen’s Park on Wednesday, Ontario’s premier doubled down and said the parties are going to “talk about the USMCA.”
“We aren't walking away with the USMCA, but … it's all about building a relationship, understanding what they require, what our needs are, and move forward.”
When asked if Ford and LeBlanc had the same goals heading into the meeting, Ford said “we’re on the same page.”
“Tariffs equal USMCA, they’re basically the same thing,” the premier said. “There are going to be conversations about tariffs and as we move forward we are going to ask them ‘let’s move this USMCA deal up as quickly as possible to give certainty to the world.’”
Earlier in the day, federal officials sidestepped questions about whether the premier’s intervention was part of its national strategy, with LeBlanc only saying that it would be “irresponsible” not to take a meeting with the Trump administration.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly added that everyone, including premiers, are “trying to figure out what the levers are to put pressure and send a message to Americans.”
On Wednesday, Canada imposed 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on about $29.8-billion worth of goods as a response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent global levy on steel and aluminum, which went into effect at midnight.
These tariffs are stacked on top of the U.S.’ 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports and 10 per cent levy on energy from March 4.
While some tariffs on goods covered under CUSMA have been paused, others remain in effect.
Thursday’s meeting in Washington, D.C., will also reportedly include Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
