Carney says government has briefed Conservative MP Jamil Jivani ahead of Washington visit

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Conservative MP Jamil Jivani received a briefing by Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, in response to questions from reporters about Jivani’s upcoming visit to Washington D.C.

“We have extensive contacts with the U.S. administration, constant contact with the U.S. administration,” Carney told reporters on Wednesday. “Minister LeBlanc gave a briefing to Mr. Jivani, who I don’t believe is the trade critic for the opposition, certainly not the minister of international trade, nor the prime minister.”

Jivani has a longtime friendship with U.S. Vice President JD Vance that goes back to their time at Yale Law School together. Jivani began reaching out to Carney, LeBlanc, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson and Liberal Caucus Chair James Maloney, in mid-December per emails provided to National Post, offering his assistance on the U.S. trade file.

The Conservative MP heads to the U.S. capital this week where he plans to meet representatives from General Motors and attend the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday.

In a post on X Tuesday, Jivani said his trip to Washington is a chance to help Carney with the upcoming Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) review.

“The reality is, this is not a partisan issue,” he said. “CUSMA and trade with the United States is so important to the Canadian economy.”

The trade relationship between Canada and the U.S. remains tense, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening a 100 per-cent tariff on Canadian goods in late January in response to Canada’s latest trade agreement with China. Last week, Trump threatened a 50 per cent tariff on Canada’s planes sold in the U.S., because Ottawa has not yet certified jets made by Gulfstream.

Jivani represents the Bowmanville—Oshawa North riding, home to many autoworkers impacted by U.S. tariffs. Last week, GM announced lay offs at its Oshawa plant, impacting 1,200 workers.

Industry Minister Melanie Joly said Jivani should be doing more to denounce GM’s actions, which are directly impacting his constituents.

“I haven’t heard once, not only denouncing what GM was doing, but also promoting the interests of the workers at GM that are facing unjust and unjustifiable tariffs by the American administration,” she said. “And he should be talking much more about it.”

National Post, with files from Stephanie Taylor

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