Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the revival of the cabinet committee to focus on Canada–United States relations was done in response to the “urgent issue” of Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States.

“The idea is that it will operate in the way that the COVID committee operated, bringing together ministers to address, in a working fashion, an urgent issue,” Freeland told reporters on Nov. 8.

Freeland said at the committee’s first meeting, held earlier in the day, the group had a “very constructive” conversation focusing on the Canada–U.S. trading relationship and border. The finance minister added that she had recently met with representatives from the steel sector in Hamilton, the auto parts manufacturing sector in Toronto, and the leaders of Canada’s largest banks.

During Trump’s first presidency from 2016 to 2020, he imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, which were eventually removed. He has also repeatedly said on the campaign trail he intends to impose broad tariffs on imported goods, including 10 to 20 percent tariffs on all imports into the United States and 60 percent tariffs on imports from China.

Freeland Says Trump ‘Respects Strength’

During the press conference, Freeland was asked about the potential for Canada to impose reciprocal tariffs on the United States, given that Canada did so in 2018 in response to the president’s 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports. Freeland did not directly answer the question, but acknowledged that Canada had taken action “really reluctantly and with no pleasure” to the “illegal tariffs.”

“What’s important about that whole experience is that Canada and the United States agreed at the end of the day that it didn’t make sense for our two countries to have those tariffs imposed,” Freeland said, noting her close partnership with then-U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Freeland was also asked about Trump’s comments from 2018 that his team didn’t “like their representative very much,” which was presumably in reference to her. Freeland said she would “never put words in his mouth,” but that in her experience, “Trump respects strength, and he respects people and countries who are strong and clear in defending their countries.”

“We did a really good trade deal with the previous Trump administration. We did a win-win deal that works for the U.S., that works for Canada,” she said.