North American relations need work, BMO head says

Canada must do more to lay groundwork to avoid trade talk surprises

- IAN BICKIS

Darryl White, chief executive of BMO, said Canadians don't understand the level of opposition there was in the U.S. to the NAFTA deal, and that it's crucial to widen support for the countries' trade relationship.

More needs to be done to maintain North American relations in an increasingly competitive and volatile world, attendees at the U.S.-Canada Summit in Toronto heard on Tuesday.

Canada needs to do more to lay ground-work today to avoid being surprised again on trade agreement talks, said Darryl White, chief executive of BMO, which co-hosted the conference with Eurasia Group.

“It’s fair to say that business communities and the public were caught pretty much off guard when NAFTA was revisited,” said White.

“We need to be more ready this time.”