At a roundtable discussion with female business leaders Monday at the White House, President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau launched a new Canada-U.S. council to help advance women entrepreneurs.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Trudeau said the Canada-United States Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders reflected their commitment to removing barriers to women’s economic participation and supporting women in the business community.

“We need to make sure our economy is a place where women can work and thrive,” Mr. Trump said as he opened the roundtable discussion with nine top executives from the U.S. and Canada.

He said that he wanted to improve the access to capital for women entrepreneurs and to remove social barriers that continue to hold back women in the workplace.

Mr. Trudeau has long focused on women business leaders.

“For me, it’s not just about doing the right thing. It’s about understanding that women in leadership positions is a very powerful leverage for success, for communities and for our countries.”

The roundtable event was organized by Mr. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, a successful entrepreneur.

She said many of the women seated around the table were “tremendous role models for me and other business leaders.”

“We think about the unique challenges that female entrepreneurs and females small business owners are confronted with each and every day,” Ms. Trump said. “And as we think about how we level the playing field for this generation and for the next.”

The roundtable participants included Elyse Allan of GE Canada, Dawn Farrell of TransAlta, Linda Hasenfratz of Linamar, Monique F. Leroux of Investissement Quebec, Tina Lee of T&T Supermarket Inc., Tamara Lundgren of Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc., Carol Stephenson of General Motors, Julie Sweet of Accenture North America and Annette Verschuren of NRStor Inc., according to the White House.

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