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U.S. Vice-President JD Vance weighed in on the latest trade deal with Canada at a fundraising event Wednesday, saying Prime Minister Mark Carney tried to “out-tough” President Donald Trump while crediting his longtime friend Conservative MP Jamil Jivani as a helpful advocate for Canada.
In audio from the fundraiser in Southampton, N.Y., which was provided to The Canadian Press by a source who attended the private function, Vance said Carney is a “very sweet guy” and he gets along with him quite well.
But, Vance said, Carney “comes in and puffs his chest out and says, ‘I’m going to, like, out-tough Donald Trump.’”
“It’s hilarious because Carney presents this as some victory for Canada when fundamentally, like, they climb down on a lot of issues,” Vance told the room.
“But the quiet sort of behind-the-scenes story is that this, like, random MP who has a good relationship with us has been a pretty effective advocate,” he said about Jivani.
Vance added there’s “this guy Pierre Poilievre or something” who is the leader of the Conservatives in Canada, adding he is a “non-entity” in negotiations.
The White House and the vice-president’s office have not yet responded to a request for comment.
Trump announced late Tuesday a last-minute deal to delay new tariffs from slamming an array of Canadian products for three days. The temporary reprieve followed a phone call with Carney earlier in the day and weeks of intensified bilateral negotiations.
Trump on Wednesday said it was a “good deal for everybody” and said his administration has a “very nice relationship with leadership right now.”
Multiple news reports have said the deal will see the United States lower sectoral tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and automobiles. In return, Carney told premiers to return American booze to liquor store shelves.
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It’s unclear what else Canada agreed to. Trump claimed the agreement would drop tariffs on American farmers to zero.
Canada-U.S. Minister Dominic LeBlanc returned to Washington Thursday for trade talks with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer ahead of a Saturday 12:01 a.m. deadline to get the agreement across the finish line.
Vance told the fundraiser for young Republican donors that Trump is not going to “bend over to make Canada happy” but he “saw that there was an opportunity here to get some wins for the country.”
“And the whole point of this is to change Canada’s behaviour,” Vance said. “Which they, you know, not entirely, but they’ve certainly shifted in a Trumpian direction.”
The Canada-U.S. relationship was upended by Trump’s return to the White House last year with the president’s tariffs and threats of annexation.
Trump’s relationship with former prime minister Justin Trudeau was famously tumultuous and ultimately helped lead to the latter’s resignation.
The vice-president said Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are leading negotiations with Canada but he’s been very involved — more so than normal — because of his relationship with Jivani.
“Now what’s interesting is (Jivani’s) been like quietly inserting himself into these negotiations,” Vance told the crowd.
Axios reported that Donald Trump Jr. and the son’s of Lutnick and senior Trump adviser Steve Witkoff were in attendance at the event.
Vance said he asked Jivani why he was helping the Liberal government and the MP responded that he cares about whether Canada wins.
Vance said Jivani effectively advocated on areas where there was a “win-win” like energy and automobile tariffs.
The vice-president and Canadian Conservative MP for Durham have been friends since they both attended Yale. Jivani has previously written about their close relationship and that he spoke at Vance’s wedding.
The vice-president noted the close relationship Wednesday calling Jivani a “very good dude.”
Jivani has travelled to Washington on numerous occasions, including an April meeting with Canadian business interests and Greer.
During a previous visit to Washington in February for a solo diplomatic mission, Jivani met with both Vance and Greer. He also stopped by the White House and said he spoke briefly with Trump.
At the time, Jivani said he wanted to contribute to Carney’s efforts to negotiate a new trade deal with the Trump administration.
Jivani’s office did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.
The MP’s outreach to the Trump administration has caused turbulence in the Canadian Conservative Party. Poilievre has repeatedly called for any deal with Trump to be tariff-free.
Poilievre — who did not make a stop in the U.S. capital when he took a trip south of the border in March — publicly rebuked Jivani following his first visit to D.C. after the backbench MP told a right-wing news outlet he felt Canadians’ reaction to the trade war amounted to an “anti-American hissy fit.”
“He speaks for himself and I speak for the party,” Poilievre said on Feb. 17.
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