Trudeau was warned about Trump’s trade plans before phone call: briefing note [Video]

Then-prime minister Justin Trudeau went into his first phone call with a newly re-elected Donald Trump aware that the U.S. president likely was looking to reopen the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement — just a few weeks before he first threatened devastating economy-wide tariffs.

A briefing note prepared ahead of the phone conversation between Trudeau and Trump on Nov. 6 of last year said the president was unlikely to wait for a formal 2026 review of the continental trade pact, also called CUSMA. Canada’s preference would be to keep the review as “narrow and targeted as possible,” the note said.

“However, Canadian officials are preparing for a range of potential scenarios in anticipation of a party seeking to revisit some CUSMA outcomes, or even the entire agreement,” the note said.

The partly redacted briefing note, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act, offers insight into the information provided to …