A WIN for Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in the US presidential election this November would mean a certain amount of unpredictability for Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday (Jan 23).

Trudeau, whose centre-left Liberals came to power in November 2015, had rocky relations with Trump during his first four-year White House term. In 2018, Trump accused Trudeau of being weak and dishonest.

“We don’t know exactly what he’ll do ... obviously, Mr Trump represents a certain amount of unpredictability,” Trudeau told reporters during a Cabinet retreat in Montreal.

Canada sends 75 per cent of its goods and services exports to the US and is particularly vulnerable to any US shift towards protectionism.

Trudeau said his Liberal government had managed to meet the challenges posed by the first Trump administration. These included the US placing tariffs on Canadian steel and Washington’s demand for the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), which also includes Mexico.

During the Nafta renegotiation, Canada sent dozens of Cabinet ministers and top officials to a number of key US states to stress the value of continental free trade and Trudeau said Ottawa would take the same approach this time.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

“We were able to manage Mr Trump by defending Canadian interests and showing we can create economic growth on both sides of the border,” said Trudeau.

Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to Washington, is due to address Cabinet ministers on Tuesday.

About two-thirds of Canadians surveyed this month said US democracy cannot survive another four years of Trump in power, according to a poll released last week. REUTERS