Trudeau expressed disappointment at Biden’s decision to terminate Keystone XL’s cross-border license, officials said, adding that Biden acknowledged it was a coup for Canada, but stressed that it was his campaign commitment.
On Friday, Trudeau said he intended to speak to Biden about the effect of the Keystone moves into Canadian jobs. But he indicated that he would not fight with Biden on the issue, noting that Canadians and the new government are “much more aligned in values” than the previous one. He and other federal officials said they “respect” Biden’s decision.
“It will not always be a perfect alignment with the United States,” said Trudeau on Friday morning. “This is the case for any president.”
Still, the leaders of Canada’s restless oil-producing provinces say Biden’s first-day decision was an insult and are pressuring Trudeau to take a tougher line. Alberta Prime Minister Jason Kenney asked Trudeau to impose trade and economic sanctions against Washington if diplomatic efforts to enter the pipeline fail, and he appeared on Fox News on Friday to reiterate his fury.
“It is very frustrating that one of the first acts of a new president was, I think, to disrespect America’s closest friend and ally – Canada,” Kenney told Fox.
Trudeau and Biden agreed to have their offices connected on Buy America issues so that Canada is not caught off guard, an official said. Biden is expected to reveal an executive order promoting Buy America next week.
The leaders also discussed Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians who have been detained in China since December 2018. Their arrests are believed to be a retaliation by Beijing against the Canadian arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in an extradition request. USA.
Biden said the United States “would be as useful as possible,” said the second official.
During the call, Biden recalled his most recent trip to Canada in December 2016, when Trudeau offered the then vice president a state dinner in December 2016.
“I think this is a new moment and full of new opportunities for a very strong and good relationship,” said the second employee, describing the call as “genuinely warm and collaborative”.