Double Win May Help Trudeau Quiet Critics: Balance of Power

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Justin Trudeau is on a roll.

In less than 12 hours, the Canadian prime minister scored the most significant economic wins of his political career: a new trilateral trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico, and a $31 billion natural gas terminal.

The agreements mark major successes on trade and energy, which have acted as drags on Canada’s economy, and are seen as Trudeau’s biggest vulnerabilities heading into next year’s elections, Theophilos Argitis and Josh Wingrove report.

With the U.S. and Mexico threatening to leave Canada out of a new agreement, negotiators worked around the clock to secure a deal ahead of last night’s midnight deadline. U.S. equity futures, Canada’s dollar and Mexico’s peso all gained.

President Donald Trump’s aggressive negotiating style and Trudeau’s willingness to stand his ground on key issues such as dairy and dispute settlement have severely tested the traditionally close U.S.-Canada relationship. In the end, Trump – who has been increasingly focused on his escalating trade war with China – won only modest revisions to a deal he once called a “disaster.”

It remains to be seen how much credit Trudeau will get for his exploits. And any concessions he made to get a Nafta deal done could generate pushback from critics who maintain he should have taken an even harder line against Trump.