(OTTAWA) Canada will be ready in the event that former US President Donald Trump again confuses doubters and wins the November 2024 presidential election.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly argued in an interview with The press that the Trudeau government had an obligation to prepare for such a scenario, lest it be surprised if it happened.

Among others M^Me Joly plans to travel to Washington shortly to meet with elected Republicans and Democrats. It is already necessary to intensify relations with members of Congress. She also intends to meet governors who head important states.

The idea of ​​recreating a kind of Team Canada that would bring together the provincial premier, the mayors of the major cities, the business groups and the unions to defend Canada’s interests against the Americans, as was the case during the turbulent four Years of Donald Trump in the White House is also taken into account.

Canada is not the only country preparing for the possibility of such a scenario, the head of Canadian diplomacy assured. European countries are doing the same, she stressed, drawing on recent exchanges she had with some of her counterparts in the old continent.

“Yes, of course we have to be prepared for that possibility,” Minister Mélanie Joly said during the interview, which took stock of the last 12 months of Canadian diplomacy.

“It’s important to prepare for it. In the coming months, I will make relations with the United States a top priority. It is obvious that we will adapt to the administration to be elected,” she added.

During President Trump’s turbulent reign, the Trudeau administration had to work hard to preserve the essential parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement, given his administration’s protectionist tendencies. After several months of difficult negotiations, a new agreement known as the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement was reached.

“Important Choice”

The Trudeau government was then able to quickly establish “a very good relationship” with the Biden government in Washington after taking office in January 2021. In March, the President also paid a first official visit to Canada – a visit that led to… the signing of several bilateral agreements, notably in the areas of energy transition, semiconductor manufacturing and the closure of Roxham Road.

Justin Trudeau has already welcomed Joe Biden’s decision to run for president again. But a victory for the Democratic president is far from certain, despite the legal backlash of Donald Trump, widely regarded as the winner of the Republican primary.

“This will be an important election for the United States,” Herr said^Me Pretty. Meanwhile, the foreign minister argues Canada doesn’t want to be a stage manager.

“The war in Ukraine has exposed fault lines in international geopolitics. These fault lines have widened. We must therefore defend Canada’s interests in a world facing profound upheaval without compromising our values. To achieve this, Canada’s influence must be increased. That’s what I’ve focused on as head of Canadian diplomacy,” the minister said.

Europe and Asia

These upheavals led to closer ties between Canada and the European Union. “More than ever we are close to Europe,” said M^Me Pretty. They also prompted a concerted effort between Canada and the United States, not only over the war in Ukraine, but also over China’s growing influence and the crisis that still rocks Haiti.

Eventually, they fueled the deliberations that led to the adoption of an Indo-Pacific strategy. As part of this strategy “to strengthen ties with these two countries,” the minister has also made increased visits to Japan and South Korea. “We should be as close to Japan and Korea as we are to Germany, France and Britain,” the minister argued, demonstrating Canada’s diplomatic ambitions towards these two Asian countries.

“The world has changed in a year. It’s really important that we invest in our diplomacy,” she said.

With a bigger budget – an additional $2.3 billion will go to the Indo-Pacific strategy over the next five years – the minister pointed out that Canada has opened six new embassies in recent months, in Estonia, Lithuania, the Slovakia, Armenia, Rwanda and Fiji.

“Diplomacy is part of our security architecture. Investing in diplomacy in the context of an international crisis is like investing in health system prevention. And diplomacy isn’t just about talking to your friends. “Diplomacy also means talking to countries with whom you don’t always agree, but who also believe in respecting each other’s borders,” Frau said^Me Joly, referring in particular to China.