By Canadian Press

Champagne keen to partner with new Biden administration on climate, COVID-19

Dec 16, 2020 | 11:51 AM

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the incoming Biden administration in the United States will help stabilize the world order and give North America a good shot at beating COVID-19 and fighting climate change.

Champagne, who did an unusual amount of jet-setting during the pandemic this past year, says he wants to kick off 2021 with a post-inauguration visit to Washington to connect with Antony Blinken, Biden’s nominee for secretary of state.

Champagne tells The Canadian Press the incoming Democratic administration of president-elect Joe Biden won’t mean an end to the protectionism that has bedevilled Canada-U. S. relations for more than a century.

But Champagne says Biden himself, his Montreal-educated vice-president-elect Kamala Harris, and Blinken all know Canada well.

Blinken will play the key role in delivering on Biden’s promise to re-engage the U.S. with world, reversing President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy.  

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Champagne says Canada wants to work side-by-side with what has traditionally been its closest ally and friend, and he wants to deliver that message to Blinken personally and as early as the pandemic allows.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2020.

The Canadian Press