Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has tapped Howard Lutnick’s texting buddy to navigate U.S.-Canada trade relations amid tensions with the Trump administration.
Carney unveiled his new Cabinet on Tuesday, appointing New Brunswick lawmaker Dominic LeBlanc as his U.S.-Canada trade minister.
“As our workers and businesses continue to face the unfair tariffs imposed by the United States, my government will fight for Canadians and for Canada to ensure that we can achieve the best possible agreement,” Carney said in a news conference. “Canada has what the world needs, and we defend the values that the world respects.”
LeBlanc, 57, is no stranger to the Trump administration. When then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Mar-a-Lago in November to meet with President Donald Trump, LeBlanc was also on board as Canada’s public safety minister.
LeBlanc returned to Trump’s Florida estate in December, this time as finance minister, to discuss border security with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
During that meeting, LeBlanc reportedly pulled a charm offensive on Lutnick and his wife Allison. It appeared to work, as he left Mar-a-Lago as the U.S. commerce chief’s texting buddy.
Thank you Prime Minister @MarkJCarney for entrusting me with the role of President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy. I am eager to build Canada Strong together. pic.twitter.com/IiT3QY81P0
— Dominic LeBlanc (@DLeBlancNB) May 13, 2025
“He is one of those remarkable people that is fun. But he’s also a really sharp public-policy mind and a problem solver,” David Paterson, Ontario’s top envoy to Washington, told Politico in January.
When Carney met with Trump at the White House last week, LeBlanc was on the Oval Office couch as the U.S. president reiterated his desire to make Canada the “51st state.”
Though Carney was forced to remind Trump that Canada is “not for sale,” LeBlanc told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that the American president was “very respectful and very interested,” even off-camera.
“That sort of constructive, cordial, businesslike tone continued after the public portion that people saw in the Oval Office,” he said.
LeBlanc said the Canadian government’s “number one objective” is to get rid of the Trump administration’s punitive tariffs and to build economic partnerships with other countries.
“We will reinforce bridges across labor, business and civil society, and together, we will advance the nation, building investments that will support the core mission of this government, which is to create the strongest economy in the G7 — an economy that works for everyone,” Carney said Tuesday.
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