Canada’s Washington Envoy Says Ottawa Won’t Rush a Trade Deal ‘At Any Cost’

Canada’s Ambassador to the United States Mark Wiseman said Ottawa is prepared for trade negotiations with Washington, but won’t reach a quick deal if it is not in the interest of Canadians.

“We wish to, the best we can, reduce the uncertainty. But we will not reduce it at any cost, because that is—in my view and in the view of the government—not in the best interest of Canadians,” Wiseman told the House of Commons foreign affairs committee on April 23.

Wiseman’s answer came in response to a question by Conservative MP Ziad Aboultaif about whether the Liberal government had a desire to delay Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) negotiations. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters that Ottawa was prepared for “detailed negotiations” but also “ready to wait, if that’s what has to happen.”

While Mexico began formal talks with the United States on CUSMA last month, and the two countries are set to begin official bilateral negotiations in May, Canada and the United States have yet to announce an official start date for negotiations.

Conservative MP Michael Chong asked Wiseman if Ottawa would soon be holding discussions with the United States on Section 232 tariff relief, which applies to steel, aluminum, lumber, and automobiles. Wiseman said they would be, but that no date has been set for formal negotiations with the United States.

Chong asked if Canada had a “deliberate strategy” of moving slowly on CUSMA negotiations, to which Wiseman said “Canada is ready and willing to commence any type of review process with the United States” and will advance Canada’s interest.

Conservative MP Lianne Rood also questioned if Carney was making a “deliberate attempt” to stall negotiations, and Wiseman said, “It’s not for me to interpret the words of the prime minister, but I can tell you that we are ready, willing, and able.”

Last week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was asked about comments from Steve Verheul, Canada’s chief trade negotiator from 2017 to 2021, who said that “time is on [Canada’s] side” in trade talks because the U.S. administration faces increasing pressure. Lutnick said it was the “worst strategy” he had ever heard of.

Supply Management

During the committee meeting, Wiseman was asked by several Bloc Québécois MPs about his previous comments on Canada’s supply management system. Wiseman previously wrote opinion pieces where he criticized the “sacred cow of supply management” and suggested it was negatively impacting Canada’s productivity.

The supply management system sets prices for dairy, eggs, and poultry products and can involve tariffs up to 300 percent after quotas are reached. The United States has cited that system as a trade irritant.

Wiseman said his role is to support and implement the policies of the Liberal government, which has said supply management is not “on the table” in trade negotiations. “Whatever my views may have been or may be today, it’s completely irrelevant to the job that I have to carry out, and I will carry out that job faithfully,” he said.

Bloc MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe questioned if Wiseman denied what he said in 2025 about supply management, to which he replied, “I don’t deny publishing that article, but I don’t think that that is relevant to my role.”

Wiseman also apologized to MPs on the committee for a recent invitation he sent to members of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee for a reception at the embassy in Washington, D.C., that was only written in English. “I want to apologize on behalf of the embassy and personally,” Wiseman said, adding that new invitations had been sent out in both English and French.

Prime Minister Carney had said earlier in the day that the error was “unacceptable” and that he was disappointed in Wiseman and in his office.