National News
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, pumps his fist as he is greeted by Kirsten Hillman, Canadian ambassador to the United States, right, as he arrives in Calgary, Alta., Sunday, June 15, 2025, to attend the G7 Leaders meeting in Kananaskis.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Ambassador says Canada's team still talks to U.S. officials during trade talk pause
Published 2:14 PDT, Wed October 29, 2025
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Canada's ambassador to the United States says her team in Washington has continued to communicate with American officials since President Donald Trump said he was terminating trade talks.
Kirsten Hillman, who also serves as Canada's top negotiator with the U.S., says her people have been in touch over the last five days with officials in the White House, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Appearing by video in front of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa today, Hillman says the conversations are not explicitly about trade because their American counterparts have been told those talks are on pause.
Trump said he was calling off trade negotiations with Canada last week over an ad paid for by the Ontario government that used clips of former president Ronald Reagan saying tariffs damage economies.
Hillman says that after Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House earlier this month, talks about trade — specifically Trump's sector-specific tariffs on industries like steel, aluminum and lumber — were happening almost daily.
Hillman says Canada is prepared to pick up trade talks once the U.S. is ready.
– Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
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