Tory MP and JD Vance Friend Jamil Jivani Headed to Washington to Help With Trade Deal

Conservative MP Jamil Jivani leaves after a meeting of the Conservative caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 6, 2025. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Conservative MP Jamil Jivani says he is travelling to Washington to help Canada in trade talks with the United States.

Jivani is a close friend and the former university roommate of U.S. Vice President JD Vance and previously met with Vance in December 2024 ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to serve a second term in the White House.

In announcing his current plan to help Canada on trade issues with Washington, Jivani said it’s in the interest of all Canadians to work together for a deal and it’s “not a partisan issue.”

“The reality is that this is not a partisan issue,” Jivani said in a video posted to X on Feb. 3, saying he wants to help with negotiations on U.S. trade and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), also referred to as the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

“CUSMA and trade with the United States is so important to the Canadian economy and to our future as an independent, self-reliant nation that Conservatives and Liberals don’t need to fight over this at all. In fact, we need to work together.”

However, Jivani went on to criticize Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “elbows up” campaign against Trump, saying he doesn’t find it effective.

“There are people who’ve been running around this country for over a year now talking about their elbows flapping about. I just don’t find that impressive. I don’t find it serious. I take this issue seriously,” Jivani said, adding that he has “a strong network” in the United States and can help build bridges between Washington and Ottawa.

The USMCA is up for review in July of this year.

Carney has said the USMCA currently allows around 85 percent of Canadian goods shipped to the United States to be tariff-free. The remaining Canadians goods, not covered by the USMCA, have been subject to a 35 percent tariff since the start of the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canadian goods and other global sectoral tariffs, as Ottawa and Washington haven’t yet reached a new trade deal .

Jivani did not provide a date when he will be in Washington or further details on what the meetings would involve.

The Epoch Times contacted the Prime Minister’s Office for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.

Carney’s most recent trip to the White House occurred in December 2025, when he met with Trump on the sidelines of the FIFA World Cup draw.

US Trade

In his Feb. 3 video, Jivani said he’s following the lead of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has repeatedly offered to help the Liberal government reach a new deal with Washington.

“In my opinion, this is not about posturing or politics,” Jivani said. “This is about business and workers. This is about unions and entrepreneurs. This is about whether we have a growing economy with stability for investment and opportunity for our young people, or whether our economy is perpetually in a state of uncertainty.”’

Jivani added that Canadians are suffering due to the economic situation and that U.S. trade is important because the majority of the country’s exports go to the United States.

“The reality is that three-fourths of our exports go to the United States. And if we want an economy that is good for our young people, if we want an economy that supports public services for seniors in our communities, we’ve got to work with the Americans,” Jivani said.

Jivani added that he has been “alarmed” about talk of doing more business with countries like China and said he wants to turn things around and help Canada repair its relationship with the United States.

“I know what all the critics are going to say, and I know what all the frothing, elbow waving anti-American activists are about to say about me, but I just don’t care. I care more about you. I care more about the Canadian people,” Jivani said.

Jivani has served the riding of Bowmanville—Oshawa North since winning a 2024 byelection to replace outgoing MP and former Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole, who resigned the seat in the summer of 2023.

Tory Leader Poilievre has asked to meet with Carney this week to discuss how to improve Canada’s trade relationship with the United States.

Canada-US Relations

Relations between Washington and Ottawa have soured further in recent weeks following a Jan. 16 agreement-in-principle between Canada and China that would establish closer ties on security, agriculture, energy, and trade, which Carney’s office said was part of a “new strategic partnership.”

The agreement includes a plan to cut Canada’s 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to 6.1 percent for up to 49,000 vehicles in return for an expectation of China lifting retaliatory tariffs and duties it had placed on Canadian agricultural and seafood products until at least the end of the year. While in China, Carney said on Jan. 15 that Canada–China relations are entering a “new era” and that the partnership he is seeking “sets us up well for a new world order.”

This was followed by a Jan. 20 speech by Carney at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in which Carney said middle powers such as Canada should refuse to be subordinated to “great powers,” making indirect criticism of the United States.

Trump responded by saying Canada “wasn’t so grateful” and went on to threaten Canada with 100 percent tariffs on all Canadian goods if Canada makes a free-trade deal with China. This was followed by Trump threatening to decertify all Canadian-made aircraft in the United States and impose 50 percent tariffs on all Canadian aircraft sold in the United States if Ottawa didn’t move to “immediately” certify a number of models of U.S.-made Gulfstream jets.

Carney said in response that Canada isn’t seeking a free-trade deal with China. “It’s entirely consistent with CUSMA, with our obligations, which we very much respect under CUSMA, and will continue to work that way,” Carney said.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.