Trudeau taps Freeland to lead revived U.S. relations cabinet committee in wake of Trump victory [Video]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is charging Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland with leading a revived cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations as the government makes changes in response to Donald Trump’s presidential comeback.

The Prime Minister’s Office said it would restart the committee on Thursday, two days after Americans elected Mr. Trump. The Republican will be sworn in as president in January, but Ottawa says it has been planning for the possibility of a second Trump presidency since the start of the year.

The re-established committee on Canada-U.S. relations will be chaired by Ms. Freeland and vice-chaired by Dominic LeBlanc, the Public Safety and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister.

Just days before Mr. Trump was first inaugurated in January, 2017, the Prime Minister shuffled his cabinet to respond to the new presidency. He promoted Ms. Freeland to foreign minister and gave her control of U.S. relations and the challenge of stickhandling trade policies, including the renegotiation of the …