Canada says US midterms will not change trade shift

Canada will keep trying to reduce its economic dependence on the United States despite the Republican defeat in the US midterm elections, the Canadian minister responsible for US-Canada trade said on November 4.

Dominic LeBlanc said Ottawa had noted the US election result but that its focus on repositioning the Canadian economy "hasn't changed." He said trade talks would still be held with President Donald Trump's White House, not an incoming Democratic-controlled Congress.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has said trade with the United States will not return to a pre-Trump normal and that Canada needs to diversify its trade relationships. LeBlanc said that remained the government's focus ahead of the budget.

US tariffs imposed under Trump have hurt Canadian businesses, and his repeated comments that Canada could become the 51st US state have prompted boycotts of American products.

Carney walked away from trade talks in August, accusing Washington of trying to impose terms that infringed on Canadian sovereignty. He said this week that talks had made progress but were not finished, and that Trump's team had backed away from some Canadian red lines. He did not give details.

Trump said late last month that he expected a new trade agreement with Canada to be reached "pretty soon," though earlier assurances about an imminent deal have not materialised.