Minister Wilkinson Pitches Energy, Minerals Alliance to Trump Admin

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson arrives for a Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa on Jan. 8, 2025. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is in the U.S. capital this week in hopes of forging an energy and minerals alliance with the Trump administration, which has just paused its tariffs on Canada.

Wilkinson said the 30-day tariff reprieve is “welcome news” for the Canadian and U.S. economies and that he hopes to increase collaboration between the two countries to make North America “affordable, safe and prosperous.”

“This is the kind of win-win discussion we want to be having,” Wilkinson said in a Feb. 3 social media post.

The Canadian minister noted China dominates the critical mineral supply chain and a stronger alliance between Canada and the United States in that domain would be strategically beneficial.

“Canada’s vast deposits combined with U.S. processing can fuel both economies, create jobs, and secure the resources driving the next generation of technology and defence systems across North America and beyond,” he said.

During a talk with the Atlantic Council on Feb. 4, Wilkinson mentioned a number of areas in which Canada could cooperate with the United States to undercut China, including jointly investing in a germanium project and in a rare earth minerals processing. He also suggested building a “complete North American nuclear fuel cycle” to reduce reliance on Russia, something he called “critically important” to deploy small modular reactors.

“On energy we can enhance the flow of Canadian crude from Alberta to assist the administration’s goal of energy dominance by working together on projects such as enhancing the capacity of the existing Enbridge Main Line, enabling the export of additional energy from the U.S. to the world,” he said.

Wilkinson’s visit to Washington comes the day after Canada and the United States came to an agreement that put a halt to their trade war for the time being.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 1 imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods and 10 percent tariffs on energy. Canada responded on the same day by announcing $155 billion in retaliatory tariffs.

After a second call with Trump on Feb. 3, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Trump had agreed to pause U.S. tariffs for 30 days after Canada promised additional measures to secure the border.

New border measures announced by Trudeau include the appointment of a “fentanyl czar,” the listing of drug cartels as terrorist entities, and the signing of a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl backed with a $200 million envelope. Additional details about the measures have not been made public.

Trump’s Feb. 3 executive order to pause the tariffs said Canada had taken immediate steps to stem the “illegal migration and illicit drug crisis through cooperative actions.” The president said, however, more time is needed to assess whether the Canadian measures resolve the issue.

Trump’s current tariffs are linked to how Canada cracks down on criminal activity affecting the United States, but he has other grievances with Canada including its defence spending.

Following on Wilkinson’s trail, Defence Minister Bill Blair and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne are also visiting the U.S. capital this week. Their visit will focus on meeting key political and industry stakeholders on ways to “strengthen the long-standing defence partnership between Canada and the United States,” the Department of National Defence said in a statement.

Canada is not meeting NATO’s defence spending guideline of 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and doesn’t plans to reach the benchmark until 2032. Trump has previously said member countries of the alliance who don’t spend on their own defence shouldn’t be protected.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance on Feb. 2 cast doubts on Canada being the United States’ “best friend” in light of its defence spending.

“I love Canada and have many Canadian friends. But is the government meeting their NATO target for military spending?” he said on social media. “Are they stopping the flow of drugs into our country? I’m sick of being taken advantage of.”

A senior Trump economic advisor discussed the tariffs strategy in a policy paper published in November, saying the tax can be used to encourage countries to increase defence spending. He also brushed aside concerns of retaliation if the core objective of increasing security is achieved.

“If Europe retaliates but dramatically boosts its own defense expenditures and capabilities, alleviating the United States’ burden for global security and threatening less overextension of our capabilities, it will have accomplished several goals,” wrote Stephen Miran.