Mark Wiseman is Mark Carney’s new deal man in Washington.
The former BlackRock executive makes his debut as Canada’s new ambassador while President Donald Trump hurls threats northward, antagonizing a longtime ally and fraying relations.
Wiseman takes over from Kirsten Hillman, a deeply connected veteran trade negotiator who was widely respected on Capitol Hill and Parliament Hill. He will not retain Hillman’s “chief negotiator” title, leaving former top bureaucrat Janice Charette to handle technical policy negotiations with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The separation in duties will free Wiseman to work rooms in the Beltway and other key states before the U.S., Canada and Mexico decide to renew or cancel North American free trade on July 1.
Wiseman makes his first moves in Washington with some forces behind him to help mollify trade war tensions: percolating anxiety among Republicans over Trump’s signature tariff policy ahead of November midterms, and the White House’s plans to roll back duties on some steel and aluminum products.
Wiseman’s success in Washington will have a ripple effect at home. A May briefing book for Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand insisted that maintaining the Canada-U.S. relationship “will define the government’s mandate and intersect with managing the federation” — keeping at bay internal forces threatening Canadian sovereignty.
Here are five hot files on Wiseman’s plate as he gets started:
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
Wiseman’s top priority will be to secure a renewal of the free-trade trilateral by the July 1 deadline and avoid a protracted negotiation process. While Trump’s tariffs targeting autos, aluminum, steel, copper and forestry products have been devastating for those sectors, the USMCA has kept more than 85 percent of trade between the U.S. and Canada flowing tariff-free.
That USMCA tariff-free coverage paired with an average effective tariff rate that, according to Fitch Ratings, recently dropped to 4.6 percent from 5.9 percent, has been key to Canada’s resiliency — despite trade war uncertainty and near-zero economic growth.
“Had the Blue Jays not made it to the World Series, we’d be in a recession,” National Bank of Canada Chief Economist Stéfane Marion told a Toronto business audience in January. “That's the type of resilience we got last year.”
The high tariff-free coverage rate has been a saving grace for the Carney government, installed nearly a year ago after capturing Canadians’ trust as the team best fit to manage Trump and his policy improv.
A diluted deal would diminish Canadian exporters’ tariff-free protection, risking new shocks to the economy and more political pain from voters who bought Carney’s promise to “stand up to Donald Trump.”
Canada-China relations
Wiseman will be eager to kill any perception that Canada’s sectoral deals with China could lead to a free-trade agreement, which Carney has said he’s not interested in pursuing.
Carney’s recent deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing has a perception problem in Washington, inspiring disapproving comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Greer.
Trump went from being congenial about Carney's win in China to threatening Canada with 100 percent tariffs within a matter of four days — a tune that could change after the president heads to Beijing in April to work out his own deals.
An FTA with China from either the U.S., Canada or Mexico would trigger a provision to terminate the USMCA, giving pretext to sunset the agreement and pursue bilateral deals. It’s a course the Trump administration has said it prefers, but one Wiseman wants to avoid.
National security
This is a multitendril file for Wiseman. Border security is one area where the rookie diplomat’s persuasion skills will be put to the test, as he aims to convince the Trump administration of Canada’s progress in securing its shared frontier and the Arctic.
If Wiseman succeeds, the White House could lift the national emergency used to justify the so-called fentanyl tariffs implemented a year ago on non-USMCA covered goods — or hike them further if he fails.
Another piece of this portfolio is Trump’s "Golden Dome" ambitions, which a billion dollars and a year haven't moved any closer to reality. It’s a pain point in bilateral relations, after the president accused Ottawa of being against the project “even though The Golden Dome would protect Canada” despite signals from Ottawa that talks are active about Canadian participation in a continent-wide missile defense shield.
Managing mixed signals from Ottawa in Washington will also be a major part of Wiseman’s job, particularly on national security issues.
The Canadian government’s new defense strategy, premised on a desire to pull away from U.S. defense reliance, is a tricky message for Wiseman to sell. It strives to soup up Canada’s sovereign capabilities and move closer with Europe, while still protecting Canadian companies’ eligibility for U.S. defense contracts.
The World Cup
The U.S., Mexico and Canada are co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup — a field where Trump’s “America First” agenda takes a back seat to the president’s desire for a successful tournament. Trump’s dreams of a harmonious World Cup run parallel with the USMCA review schedule, with negotiations to coincide with the tournament’s June 11 to July 19 dates.
With Canadian consulates in nine of the 11 American host cities for World Cup games, there’s an opportunity for Wiseman to hatch an engagement plan to perpetually be in the faces of U.S. officials — and to get Canadian leaders and lawmakers stateside to show support.
Working with American and Mexican officials to ensure smooth border and visa processes will be key to the tournament’s success, with games spread across three countries.
Section 232 tariffs
There’s a divergence in opinion between Ottawa and Washington about whether Section 232 tariffs should be rolled into USMCA review talks — no matter the prime minister’s expectations.
“My judgment is that that is now going to roll into the broader CUSMA negotiation,” Carney told reporters in December, using the Canadian acronym for the trilateral agreement. “We’re unlikely, given the time horizons coming together, to have a sectoral agreement.”
Section 232 tariffs targeting autos, aluminum, steel, copper and forestry products are separate from the USMCA and from the levies Trump imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
With the chief negotiator tasked to handle technical policy negotiations, Wiseman will likely feel pressure to help manage a hot wire at home: Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
The populist premier launched an anti-tariff ad featuring Ronald Reagan that derailed talks toward a deal to relieve Section 232 tariffs, much to U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra’s expletive-laced frustration — cementing bad blood between Ford and the Trump administration.
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