‘He says different things at different times’: Hillman on whether Trump wants to keep CUSMA

Kirsten Hillman speaks to media in Philadelphia on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Amid a year-long trade war, Canada’s outgoing ambassador to the United States says she doesn’t know whether U.S. President Donald Trump hopes to keep the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in place, because his messaging around the deal has been inconsistent.

The agreement, inked during Trump’s first term, is up for review this year. In 2018, Trump called it the “most modern, up-to-date, and balanced trade agreement in the history of (the United States),” but just last month called it “irrelevant.”

“I don’t think I can answer that question,” Kirsten Hillman told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview airing Sunday, when asked if she believes Trump wants to keep CUSMA in place.

“I think if the president has a strong view around the U.S. being able to do more itself, how that translates with respect to this treaty, I don’t know,” she added. “He says different things at different times.”

The U.S. and Canada remain in the throes of a trade war, which began last February when Trump imposed a slate of sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports.

Hillman, meanwhile, announced in December she would be stepping down as ambassador to the United States. She has represented Canada in D.C. for nearly six years and played a lead role in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) before that.

“I think for Canada, what’s important is that we just keep working consistently with those — and there are so, so many of them in all three countries — that understand factually why that treaty keeps American business more competitive, creates more jobs and keeps their economy in a good place,” Hillman said of the future of CUSMA. “And I think that a lot of people are getting that message to the president.”

In an interview for CTV Question Period last month, Business Council of Canada president and CEO Goldy Hyder said he’s optimistic, based on his dealings with U.S. officials and business leaders, that CUSMA can be salvaged despite recent rhetoric.

“Yes, there’s a lot of noise; it’s not straight line,” he said. “Yes, it’s going to be complicated to get there. But there’s a recognition that this agreement is important for all three countries.”

And, this week, Conservative MP — and longtime friend of U.S. Vice-President JD Vance — Jamil Jivani travelled to Washington for a solo diplomatic mission to meet with senior U.S. officials, calling the conversations “productive.”

Asked if she were staying in the ambassador role, what would be keeping her up at night, Hillman said Canada has to “find a way to have serious, professional, technical trade discussions with the Americans,” while working toward making the Canadian economy more self-reliant.

“I think we need to not take our foot off the gas on either of them, while at the same time trying our best not to get knocked off course by the inevitable sort of distractions and diversions that always come up here in Washington,” Hillman said.

‘Geography can’t be undone’: Hillman

Asked to reflect on her time as ambassador and the state of the Canada-U.S. relationship, Hillman said it’s important people understand the degree of interaction and co-operation between the two countries’ administrations.

She said 13 different ministries are represented at Canada’s embassy in Washington, pointing to transport, energy, environment and finance as examples.

“Something comes up every day, and it’s not always problems,” she added. “Often it’s good things that we’re trying to celebrate, that we’re doing together.”

“I think geography can’t be undone,” Hillman also said, when asked whether that interconnectedness and interdependence is hard to undo.

The outgoing ambassador said while there are “a lot of feelings” and “a lot of disruption” in the relationship because of Trump’s policies, people-to-people ties “are deep and wide.”

“I don’t think we’re going to go back to where we have been in the past with the United States,” she said. “I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.”

“I think, in large part, both of our countries took each other for granted,” she added. “I don’t think that’s the case anymore, but that doesn’t mean that those relationships that are so broad and deep won’t continue to be a source of inspiration as we chart whatever this new path is with our neighbour.”

After she officially wraps up her tenure as Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. this month, Hillman is set to return to Ottawa, though she has not announced which role she’ll take on next.

Canadian business executive Mark Wiseman is set to take on the role of Canada’s ambassador to the United States later this month.

You can watch Canada’s outgoing ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman’s full interview on CTV Question Period Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.

With files from CTV News senior political correspondent Mike Le Couteur