BNN Bloomberg reported on business community responses to Canada’s newly elected minority government and the potential impact on key trade and policy issues. Bennett Jones Senior Advisor and Chair of Jeffries Securities, the Honourable John Manley, offered his perspective on how the current political landscape may influence economic decision-making.
“A majority government would have been a preferred outcome for the business community,” said John. “However, this result is pretty close.” He noted that minority governments can be effective, operating “on an issue-by-issue basis—and that’s actually not a bad discipline.”
On trade, John discussed the upcoming renewal of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, pointing to potential challenges in negotiations with the current US administration. “The question [Carney] needs to be thinking about right now is how do you begin a negotiation with somebody who’s already in breach of the agreement you already have with them,” he said.