Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday named 24 members to a newly created Advisory Committee on Canada-US Economic Relations, replacing most of the Trudeau-era Council on Canada-US Relations and expanding the body by six seats from the previous 18-member format.
The first meeting is set for April 27, with Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc serving as chair.
The appointment list confirms that the revamped committee includes several prominent figures from outside Liberal rank. Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole and former Conservative cabinet minister Lisa Raitt are both on the roster. Raitt recently blasted floor crossings as “gross, undemocratic and upsetting.”
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Former deputy prime minister Jean Charest and former Liberal cabinet minister Ralph Goodale also made the cut.
The full committee includes Jean Simard, Candace Laing, Darryl White, Tracy Robinson, Ron Bedard, Ken Seitz, Dennis Darby, François Poirier, Émile Cordeau, Luc Thériault, Magali Picard, Jonathan Price, Susan Yurkovich, Michael Harvey, Cameron Bailey, Valérie Beaudoin, and P.J. Akeeagok.
Only four members from the Trudeau-era council were retained: Flavio Volpe of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, Unifor president Lana Payne, Canadian Council for Indigenous Business chief executive Tabatha Bull, and Jean Charest.
The Prime Minister’s Office said the group is intended to bring together experience from business, investment, trade, and labour.
This comes as Canada, the US, and Mexico are due to begin the joint review of CUSMA on July 1, 2026, the sixth anniversary of the pact’s entry into force. At that review, the three countries can agree to extend the agreement’s term for another 16 years. If they do not reach consensus, annual reviews would continue until an extension is agreed or the agreement expires in 2036.
Ottawa’s own framing is that the committee is being assembled to protect and deepen Canada’s trade position with the US rather than merely manage a political relationship. The PMO said 85% of Canada-US merchandise trade is tariff-free under CUSMA, while the government has separately pegged two-way goods and services flows at more than $3.5 billion per day.
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