Prime Minister Mark Carney will gather his cabinet in Quebec City tomorrow and Friday, where Canada’s economy and trade relationships will top the agenda.
In a press release on Wednesday announcing the meeting, the Prime Minister’s office said it would focus on the government’s core mission.
That mission, the government says, is to “build a stronger, more sustainable, and more independent Canadian economy that benefits everyone.”
CTV News requested more information about the agenda, but government officials were not immediately able to provide any.
The meetings come on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump saying “Canada lives because of the U.S.” at the World Economic Forum, and an upcoming mandated review of CUSMA, the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade deal.
There have been no updates about Dominic Leblanc’s trip to Washington to formally start discussions. The government previously stated the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade would head south of the border in mid-January.
In Wednesday’s release, the Prime Minister’s office said ministers will focus on the seven priorities laid out in the joint cabinet mandate letter. Number one reads “Establishing a new economic and security relationship with the United States and strengthening our collaboration with reliable trading partners and allies around the world.”
The meetings are also a first chance for cabinet to hear from the prime minister about his new trade agreement and change in relationship with China, fresh off his meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The Quebec City meetings are called a “Cabinet Planning Forum” - previously referred to as cabinet retreats in the Trudeau era - and come just ahead of Parliament’s return Monday after a holiday break.
Ministers are meeting at the Citadelle. The star-shaped fortress was initially built by the British army in preparation for an American attack that never came. The meetings themselves will be held in the official second residence of Canada’s Governor General. If the symbolism around Canada-U.S. relations and Canadian sovereignty wasn’t meant to be so visually stark, government officials weren’t immediately willing to provide comment.
Since the last planning forum in September, the makeup of cabinet looks different with the resignation of two ministers, Chrystia Freeland and Steven Guilbeault, and the addition of Trudeau-era minister Marc Miller. (Joël Lightbound took over Guilbeault’s Quebec lieutenant position.)
The Liberals also ended the fall session with the addition of two caucus members, after Chris D’Entremont and Michael Ma crossed the floor from the Conservatives.
CTV News has asked whether discussions about attracting more potential floor crossers are on cabinet’s agenda, but has not yet received a response.
The Liberals are now just two seats shy of the 172 seats needed for a majority government.
