LeBlanc heading to Washington after Carney says CUSMA 'broken' by U.S. tariffs

Former ministry of finance special advisor Julian Karaguesian says Dominic LeBlanc may want to ‘scope out the parameters’ of a new trade deal.

OTTAWA — Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is set to meet President Donald Trump’s trade czar in Washington on Friday, a day after the United States announced it was launching bilateral discussions with Mexico on the review of the continental trade pact.

LeBlanc’s office said he will be meeting with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to discuss the upcoming mandatory review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA, as well as other bilateral concerns.

The continental trade pact has shielded Canada from the worst impacts of Trump’s tariffs but the president has repeatedly questioned whether CUSMA should be continued.

The Canada-U.S. relationship has been upended by Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation. Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a media availability in Australia on Wednesday that CUSMA “effectively has been broken in the short term by U.S. actions.”

Carney said Canada is looking to this year’s trade pact review to “re-establish the trust” individuals, businesses and investors need to guide trade between the nations.

Trade talks between Canada and the United States stalled last October after Trump was angered by an Ontario-sponsored ad quoting former president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.

Despite the freeze-out, LeBlanc and Greer have continued communications by phone.

Canada began domestic CUSMA consultations last year but Ottawa has not formally launched anything with the United States. Greer said last month Canadians have barriers that make it difficult to hold bilateral trade talks.

“They refuse to sell U.S. wine and spirits on their shelves,” Greer told Fox Business. “There are a variety of issues they have not addressed and aren’t addressing and this makes it a big challenge and an obstacle for starting real negotiations with them.”

Some have suggested that the contentious Canada-U.S. relationship could mean the United States and Mexico begin CUSMA negotiations with Canada on the sidelines.

Something similar happened during the original CUSMA negotiations to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement during Trump’s first term.

Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s trade representative at the time, recounted in his book that the United States and Mexico came to an agreement and “Canada was welcome to join if it wanted,” but Washington and Mexico City were “prepared to move forward bilaterally if it did not.”

Ultimately, an agreement was reached that was hailed a success in all three countries.

In a news release Thursday, Greer’s office announced that he and Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard have instructed their negotiators to begin a “scoping discussion” on the trilateral trade pact.

The release said negotiators are expected to hold their first meeting the week of March 16, and to then meet regularly afterwards as part of the review.

LeBlanc’s meeting in the United States capital could lay the groundwork for Canada to be brought to the CUSMA negotiating table.

CUSMA’s review essentially sets up a three-way choice for the partner countries to make in July. They can renew the deal for another 16 years, withdraw from it or signal both non-renewal and non-withdrawal — which would trigger an annual review that could keep negotiations going for up to a decade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2026.

The Canadian Press