Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to note that Stephen Schwarzman is at the retreat in Calgary rather than Jared Kushner.
A top adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump plans to hold talks in Canada with members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s team, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive officer of major investment firm Blackstone Group LP, has been invited to address the retreat on Monday. Schwarzman chairs a panel of business leaders who give Trump advice.
Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., David MacNaughton has said Mexico is Trump’s prime target in terms of trade, but that Canada could be collateral damage.
READ MORE: Team Trudeau meeting with Team Trump as inauguration, doubts over trade, loom
MacNaughton, who spoke with reporters on Sunday, has been meeting with members of the Trump administration for weeks, part of a small group of Canadian officials trying to sell the merits of trade with Canada to the new president’s team.
The ambassador told reporters gathered in Calgary for a federal cabinet retreat that some of those he’s met with understand how integrated the two countries are, but others don’t.
The two-day retreat is expected to focus mainly on the best approach to take with Trump, whose vow to renegotiate NAFTA could damage the Canadian economy.
READ MORE: Donald Trump plans talks with Justin Trudeau to renegotiate NAFTA
Canadian officials, trying to persuade the new U.S. administration that focusing on Canada makes no sense, given how closely the economies are linked, say the Trump team is most concerned about large U.S. trade deficits with China and Mexico.
Also on Sunday, Trump said he intends to meet soon with Canadian and Mexican leaders to begin renegotiating the trilateral trade deal.
NAFTA went into force 23 years ago. Trump pledged during his 2016 presidential campaign that if elected he would renegotiate it to provide more favourable terms to the United States.
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