Jamil Jivani in Oshawa, Ont. in July, 2020. Earlier this year, Mr. Jivani entered elected politics as the Conservative MP for the Ontario riding of Durham.Carlos Osorio/The Globe and Mail
During the first Trump administration, deliberately crafted relationships between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s inner circle and those closest to the then-president were credited with keeping talks open between Canada and the U.S.
Now that Donald Trump has been re-elected, the next cross-border political power duo could be Conservative MP Jamil Jivani and U.S. vice-president-elect JD Vance, friends for more than a decade.
The pair had lunch in Washington on Wednesday, Politico reported. The get-together took place as Mr. Trump’s cabinet picks were being scrutinized to uncover potential implications for Canada, while in Ottawa the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations met again to focus on next steps concerning border security and the economy.
Mr. Jivani did not return a request for comment from The Globe and Mail Thursday, but Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s office had this to say: “Jamil had lunch with his old friend from law school,” spokesman Sebastian Skamski said.
“In addition to catching up on their personal lives, Jamil of course used the opportunity to promote Canada as the United States’ most reliable trade and security partner.”
Mr. Jivani and Mr. Vance met as students at Yale Law School, and as Mr. Jivani would later recount in an essay for the National Post, they became such good friends that he did a Bible reading at Mr. Vance’s wedding.
The two later worked together to set up a non-profit in Ohio – prior to Mr. Vance entering politics – but those efforts faltered when Mr. Jivani was diagnosed with cancer, he would later tell The New York Times.
Mr. Vance went on to become a U.S. senator, and earlier this year, Mr. Jivani made his own entry into elected politics as the Conservative MP for the Ontario riding of Durham.
Under the last Trump administration, the Liberals put together a cross-partisan approach, recruiting conservatives – from onetime cabinet ministers all the way to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney – to help manage the Canada-U.S. relationship.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland – who chairs the cabinet committee on Canada-U. S. relations – said she believed a new cross-partisan approach was possible, as did Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.
“Our goal is to make sure that we work all together,” Ms. Joly said.
Ms. Freeland’s office did not return a request for comment from The Globe as to whether Mr. Jivani was being courted to help with that work.
