Colorado Gov. Jared Polis says Canada likely won’t gain much by waiting on the November midterms to ramp up trade negotiations with the U.S. administration, because it’s unlikely Congress will be able to put enough pressure on the president to make a difference.
As the July 1 deadline to review the trilateral trade deal between Canada, the United States and Mexico — known as CUSMA — fast approaches, Prime Minister Mark Carney has signalled he’s in no rush to negotiate.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republicans, meanwhile, could very well lose control of Congress in November, leading to speculation the Carney government is trying to wait it out until then.
But, in an interview on CTV Question Period airing Sunday, Polis told host Vassy Kapelos it may not make a difference.
“Sadly, having served in Congress 10 years, I have to tell you, that’s not really the way our system works,” Polis said, when asked whether Congress could use its additional power after the midterms to leverage pressure on Trump.
“We give tremendous authority to the executive in negotiating these kinds of agreements,” Polis added. “Pressure, yes, but I don’t think this president gives into that pressure.”
The longtime governor and Democrat said it’s important to understand what Trump wants out of the United States’ North American trade relationships, as well as what American negotiators are offering Canada. But, he also categorized the U.S. negotiating strategy as “completely incoherent.”
“There’s not a lot (Congress) can do to direct the terms of the Canada-Mexico-U.S. agreement,” Polis also said. “Can they apply rhetorical pressure? Sure. But it’s just not the same as the kind of prime minister single-body-of-the-legislature system.”
“It is a separate body of government, so you’re not going to be negotiating with the Speaker and the Senate president, you’re still stuck negotiating with the president and his appointees for the next two years,” Polis added.
Asked by Kapelos whether it’s fair to interpret from those comments that midterms won’t make much of a difference in negotiations between Canada and the U.S., Polis said the Democrats could include language in appropriations bills to “restrict the president’s hands a bit,” but that they would still need Republican support to do so.
“So I think you might see some minor curtailing of the president’s ability,” Polis said. “But that wouldn’t even occur for, you know, another year till the appropriations bills for (2027–28) are being considered in early-to-mid ’27.”
Former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Frank McKenna, meanwhile, told Kapelos — also in an interview airing Sunday — that he “totally support(s)” a Canadian strategy to wait out Trump until after the midterms.
“We have a very compelling case to be made, and I think when we get to the table, we’ll make it,” McKenna said. “We’ve got lots of issues we need to put on the table, and I know they do as well, but we need to get to that table to do it, so I think it’s appropriate to take our time.”
You can watch Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ full interview on CTV Question Period Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
