Minister LeBlanc holds ‘constructive and lengthy’ meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick

Mike Le Couteur reports on what came out of Minster LeBlanc’s meeting with U.S. government officials in Washington.

CTV News has learned that Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Tuesday morning, with LeBlanc’s office describing the meeting as “constructive and lengthy.”

They said the meeting was scheduled for one hour, but lasted more than 90 minutes.

Kirsten Hillman, Canadian ambassador to the U.S., was also at the meeting, as was Marc-Andre Blanchard, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s chief of staff.

The talks come just days after Carney announced Canada would drop some of its counter-tariffs on American goods, part of a prolonged trade war that has seen Washington impose a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian exports not covered by the countries’ free-trade deal.

• Trump tariffs: LeBlanc set to meet with Lutnick this week

Both Canada and the U.S. still have tariffs in place for steel, aluminum, copper and autos.

Carney has said the goal is to “intensify” talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on a broader economic and security deal, and that he received assurances from Trump that scrapping some countermeasures will kickstart those negotiations.

Former U.S. ambassador to Canada Gordon Giffin told CTV News Channel in an interview Tuesday that Canada’s move to lift some retaliatory tariffs “opened the door for renewed negotiations.”

“I assume that this meeting is the beginning of those negotiations, and I’m optimistic that something material can be a result in the foreseeable future,” he said. “The template for a deal is pretty straightforward and obvious… Canada, I think, has the opportunity to strike a deal that may be much better than the rest of the world.”

Giffin also praised Hillman’s presence at the talks, noting that her background as an “experienced, successful” trade lawyer is “an extreme asset for Canada.”

LeBlanc has made several trips to Washington in recent months, including one in late July.

He said at the time that the government’s priority was to get the “best deal” for Canada, rather than one by the pre-determined Aug. 1 deadline.

With files from CTV News’ Spencer Van Dyk