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OTTAWA — With Canadian companies facing a hardening of the border with the United States, Justin Trudeau wants to talk with his provincial and territorial counterparts later this year about breaking down trade barriers from within.

The prime minister announced Thursday he will host a first ministers meeting in the fall aimed at making the country’s economy more interconnected.

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The gathering will likely also be the first opportunity for long-time Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc to sit down face-to-face with all of the premiers as the federal minister responsible for intergovernmental affairs, a portfolio he took on when Trudeau shuffled his cabinet Wednesday.

It makes little sense that companies based outside Canada are met with fewer restrictions to Canadian markets than Canadian companies from within their own country, Trudeau said in a statement.

“Foreign companies shouldn’t have easier access to Canadian markets than Canadian companies from another province.”