Justin Trudeau was warned of Donald Trump’s trade plans before call, briefing note reveals

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive to take part in a plenary session at the NATO Summit in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, on December 4, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Then-prime minister Justin Trudeau went into his first phone call with a newly re-elected Donald Trump aware that the U.S. president likely was looking to reopen the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement — just a few weeks before he first threatened devastating economy-wide tariffs.

A briefing note prepared ahead of the phone conversation between Trudeau and Trump on Nov. 6 of last year said the president was unlikely to wait for a formal 2026 review of the continental trade pact, also called CUSMA. Canada’s preference would be to keep the review as “narrow and targeted as possible,” the note said.

“However, Canadian officials are preparing for a range of potential scenarios in anticipation of a party seeking to revisit some CUSMA outcomes, or even the entire agreement,” the note said.

The partly redacted briefing note, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act, offers insight into the information provided to Trudeau before his call with the incoming president.

The note pitched talking points for Trudeau and suggested he congratulate Trump on his “historic election win” and praise the Republican leader’s “amazing campaign.”

It suggested that Trudeau tell Trump he was looking forward to working together on trade and economic issues, which included CUSMA, protecting pipelines and transmission lines and strengthening supply chains to “reduce dependence on hostile states.”

The briefing note also said “economic security will be a front-burner issue for a Republican Administration.”

“It is an issue that transcends economic policy and includes national security,” the note said.

A readout from the Prime Minister’s Office following the November phone call said Trudeau and Trump discussed “the enduring and successful partnership between Canada and the United States.” The readout said they also talked about “shared interest in secure and reliable supply chains and addressing unfair trading practices in the global economy.”

But Canada has been in Trump’s crosshairs ever since. The president first threatened to impose steep and sweeping tariffs on Canada on Nov. 25, linking the duties to the flow of fentanyl across the border.

U.S. government data shows the volume of fentanyl crossing the northern border is minuscule. The Annual Threat Assessment report, released Tuesday, does not mention Canada in its section about illicit drugs and fentanyl.

Trump and Trudeau subsequently had multiple additional conversations and the former prime minister travelled to the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida late last year in an effort to prevent the tariffs.

Canada boosted border enforcement but was ultimately hit with 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy, earlier this month. Those duties were partly paused days after.

The president also moved ahead with 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., including from Canada, the following week.

Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. director of national intelligence, was asked about fentanyl and Canada during a Senate intelligence committee hearing Tuesday. She said Mexico is the most extreme fentanyl threat and she didn’t have numbers about Canada.

Trump has repeatedly complained about trade deficits and has threatened to use “economic force” to make Canada a U.S. state. Canadian officials have said the devastating duties are meant to destabilize the country economically to make it easier to annex.

Experts have said levies against Canada and Mexico are being used to rattle both countries ahead of the trilateral trade pact’s mandatory review. The president’s inconsistent and ongoing tariff threats are reminiscent of the CUSMA negotiations during the first Trump administration.

Trump floated the idea of a 25 per cent tariff on the Canadian auto sector during negotiations in 2018, but it was never implemented. But he did use his national security powers to impose a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imports.

Nearly a year later, Canada and Mexico were able to negotiate exemptions and the new trilateral trade deal was signed to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2025.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press