OTTAWA-
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says former US President Donald Trump used “bullying” tactics during negotiations on a new North American Free Trade Agreement more than two years ago.
Freeland was asked Thursday to respond to a characterization of herself as a frustrating and difficult negotiator in a new memoir by Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner.
“When you’re threatened by a bully, the answer is not to give in,” she said. “The answer is to be united and to stay strong.”
She first linked the idea to Ukraine standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but quickly said she was in no way trying to compare the plight of Ukrainians to Canada’s relationship with its larger major trading partner.
In his book Breaking History, Kushner accused Freeland of deliberately blocking negotiations and speaking publicly about the talks against the wishes of the White House.
He said Canada, with Freeland at the helm, had engaged in “an increasingly frustrating series of negotiations” and “refused to commit to substantive change”.
He also blamed him for walking out of negotiations and holding press conferences with Canadian reporters “uttering platitudes like ‘I’m paid in Canadian dollars, not US dollars.’
Freeland did not directly dispute any of Kushner’s claims, but said Canada’s best asset in these negotiations was a united front in talks presented by Conservative premiers and the Liberal federal government.
This united front included public statements supporting the government against Trump by then-Conservative leader Andrew Scheer and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
“Canada’s Conservatives continue to support the Prime Minister’s efforts to advocate for free trade. The divisive rhetoric and personal attacks from the US administration are clearly unnecessary. ,” Scheer tweeted on June 10, 2018.
It came after Trump called Trudeau “very dishonest and weak.”
“We will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Prime Minister and the people of Canada,” Ford said, responding to the same insult.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 25, 2022.