LeBlanc heads to Washington ahead of key CUSMA trade review

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Dominic LeBlanc isn't saying much about his travel plans, but his key message is things aren't so bad and people are paying too much attention to where Mexico stands in trade talks relative to Canada.

[00:00:12]Attention is on Mexico these days because by all appearances they are further ahead. The United States Trade Representative's office announced it will kick off the first of three rounds of formal negotiations with Mexico this week, but made no mention of Canada and did not respond to a request from CTV News. The US has continued to make clear it has a number of trade irritants.

[00:00:35]Earlier this week at an event, Jameson Greer referenced trade challenges with Canada. While Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc tells CTV he met with Greer Monday for an hour via video and said Canada's chief trade negotiator was on the call, too. LeBlanc tells us he will head to Washington for in-person meetings next week.

[00:00:55]Before his trip to New York, the Prime Minister told reporters this morning his meetings there are focused on the private sector with institutions that are either already investing or are interested in investing in Canada. A lot has changed in Canada and we're moving forward at speed. You just have to just refer back to what we're discussing here.

[00:01:17]Half a trillion dollars of defense-related investment in the course of the next decade in Canada. Even in New York, that's real money. That's of interest and there's opportunities to partner and that those will be the discussions. It's not a trade mission in that sense in terms of trade negotiations. The Prime Minister referenced ongoing conversations LeBlanc is having and of course all this comes against the backdrop of the July 1st deadline for a review of the Canada-US-Mexico free trade deal.