Canada Is Making Democratic Inroads Ahead Of A Post-trump Future

PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro privately met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of a Toronto summit earlier this month — the latest sign that top 2028 Democratic contenders are cultivating ties with a key ally as they prepare for the post-Trump era.

The meeting, which both parties confirmed to POLITICO, happened adjacent to an intimate dinner on the margins of the US-Canada Summit hosted by Eurasia Group and Royal Bank of Canada at Toronto’s Ritz-Carlton.

“I really wanted to just make clear that we respect Canadian sovereignty and also do business,” Shapiro told POLITICO in an interview. “I mean, Canada is a huge trading partner for Pennsylvania. We export and import literally about $14 billion a year on both sides. We have a totally balanced trade relationship.”

Shapiro added that “the prime minister's office reached out, offered to meet. I thought it was supposed to be a five- to 10-minute quick hello. We ended up meeting for 30 or 40 minutes, and had a really good in-depth conversation. I'm an admirer of his leadership.”

Audrey Champoux, a Carney spokesperson, said the two had a “brief introductory meeting while Governor Shapiro was in Toronto for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Pennsylvania and Ontario.” They focused on “the relationship between Pennsylvania and Canada, which includes high levels of collaboration in various sectors, including energy infrastructure, critical minerals, manufacturing, and life sciences,” Champoux added, also noting that “the Prime Minister has engaged with both Democrats and Republicans over the course of his mandate."

It’s the third time in recent weeks that a leading 2028 Democratic contender has secured a private audience with Carney, positioning the prime minister as an informal sounding board for Democrats weighing their futures — and that of the Canada-U.S. relationship.

In May, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) each huddled privately with Carney on the sidelines of the Global Progress Action conference, an event organized by the left-leaning Center for American Progress.

Carney represents a compelling model for some Democrats, said Neera Tanden, the president and CEO of CAP who organized the conference.

“He’s a practical leader who's delivering real results, and he definitely takes the fight to [President Donald] Trump,” Tanden said. “He's not intimidated. He's not bullied.”

Shapiro, for his part, serves as the chair of the Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers, the body that oversees the region’s economic concerns and shared freshwater resources. While at the summit, Shapiro also met with Dave McKay, CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada, and had a bilateral meeting with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

The meetings with Carney serve as a way for Democrats to differentiate from Trump’s hardline approach to the northern ally while burnishing their foreign policy credentials, something they did earlier this year at the Munich Security Conference.

Back in May, both Buttigieg and Slotkin posted images and readouts of their sit-downs with Carney on social media. Slotkin said she reaffirmed a “commitment to that relationship” and said they discussed “the importance of the Gordie Howe Bridge,” along with raising her “concerns about the threat of Chinese cars coming to North America.” Buttigieg said “the longstanding partnership between our two counties remains essential.”

Carney has effectively tacked his Liberal Party back to the center — a goal some in the Democratic 2028 field share. The prime minister’s social policy still resembles that of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. But he has axed key planks of Trudeau’s climate policy, including a consumer carbon price and a zero-emission vehicle mandate meant to phase out gas-powered cars. He has also spoken favorably about new pipeline projects, cut the size of the federal bureaucracy and accelerated a substantial boost in defense spending.

“He's heterodox: He's offering ideas from the center, maybe mostly from the center, but a little bit from the left,” Tanden said.

Shapiro, for one, is an admirer.

“I thought his middle powers speech really was important, and while I know Canada is looking to work around Donald Trump and his administration, we did discuss ways that we could partner together to strengthen the economy of both Canada and Pennsylvania, and I think he is one of the most thoughtful world leaders we have right now,” Shapiro said.