Canada PM Justin Trudeau & US Pres Joe Biden talk about common issues on phone

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Ottawa/Canadian-Media:  Canada PM Justin Trudeau  spoke with newly inaugurated U.S. President Joe Biden by phone on Friday various issues including the COVID-19 response, economic recovery, climate change, continental security, working with Indigenous peoples and international relations,  according to a readout of the call from Trudeau's Office.

Trudeau On Phone with Biden. Image credit: screenshot

It was the first opportunity for Trudeau to build a new Canada-U.S. relationship with Biden.

​When Trudeau expressed his disappointment with Biden's early move to effectively cancel the Keystone XL pipeline by revoking its permit, Biden acknowledged the hardship the decision would create in Canada. 

Biden added that although the project was projected to carry some 800,000 barrels of oil per day from the tar sands of Alberta to several US states through Native American lands, he wanted to make a U-turn on the climate policy of former US President Donald Trump, and to make good on a campaign promise in restoring a decision made by the former Obama administration.

Biden also said he had reinstated the country to the Paris Agreement during his first of executive orders. 

Trudeau and Biden also discussed another potential area of conflict between the two countries: Biden's commitment to including 'Buy American' provisions that privilege U.S. companies in future infrastructure spending plans.

Biden acknowledged the deep supply chain connections between the Canadian and the U.S. economies and assured Trudeau that Canadian officials would be consulted as the policy is developed,  said the official said.

"Reflecting on the extraordinary and deeply interconnected economic relationship between the two countries, and with a view to promoting and protecting it, the Prime Minister and President agreed to consult closely to avoid measures that may constrain bilateral trade, supply chains, and economic growth,' the PMO readout said.

There was also an agreement between the two leaders to meet again next month, the readout said,  but whether the meeting would be in-person or virtually was not specified in the readout.