LeBlanc: U.S. midterm results will not change Canada's trade stance; talks with U.S. officials ahead

OTTAWA, Nov 4 — A senior Canadian cabinet minister said on Wednesday that the U.S. midterm results would not change Ottawa's stance towards trade talks with the United States, adding that he would speak soon to his American counterparts.

Interesting, but no change of focus

Dominic LeBlanc, the minister in charge of U.S. trade ties, said: “to a certain extent last night's results are interesting, but they will not have any significant impact in terms of our government's focus and work.” Democrats seized control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, blaming rising costs, the war with Iran and President Donald Trump's policy of imposing tariffs on goods from major trading partners such as Canada.

What comes next

LeBlanc told reporters he planned to speak to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer over the next few days. Trump said on Tuesday that the United States was close to making a trade deal with Canada, but Prime Minister Mark Carney said work remained to be done and that Washington had dropped some demands.

(Source: Reuters, Nov 4, 2026; reporting by Promit Mukherjee, writing by David Ljunggren. Photo: file image of Canada's Parliament buildings in Ottawa.)