The focus will be on relationships when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet meet in Sudbury for a retreat this weekend.

And one of the relationships the retreat will foster is with Sudburians, who are invited to attend a barbecue Monday at 5:30 p.m. at Science North, at the close of the retreat.

Local MPs are calling the meeting historic because the prime minister and cabinet have not convened in Sudbury in recent memory.

Trudeau and his 30 ministers will get to work Sunday morning at two locations – Science North and the Alphonse Raymond Building at Laurentian University.

Ministers won’t be staying in lavish accommodations here as they did last fall at their first cabinet retreat, in New Brunswick. Trudeau’s rookie Liberal government was criticized for spending $150,000 for that retreat at an up-scale resort.

Instead, ministers will team up to share accommodation in student apartments on the Laurentian campus. They aren’t luxury housing, but that won’t matter because ministers won’t be spending much time in them. They will be too busy attending back-to-back meetings all day Sunday and at least half of Monday.

Since the Liberals won a majority government in October 2015, Trudeau and his MPs have worked on building, and in some cases rebuilding, relationships.

The prime minister and cabinet will discuss issues surrounding three key relationships at the Sudbury retreat. The first relationship that needed patching up after Trudeau swept to power was the federal government’s relationship with provincial and territorial leaders. Trudeau press secretary Cameron Ahmad said that will be on the table at this cabinet retreat.

Healing did begin earlier this year when the prime minister held a first ministers’ meeting shortly after he was elected, the first between federal and provincial leaders in almost a decade.

Talks have continued between the two levels of government about agreements on issues such as infrastructure funding.

The next relationship Liberals are focused on is the one with Canada’s indigenous peoples – members of first nations, and Metis and Inuit people.

Trudeau is so determined to repair trust between indigenous people and his government that mandate letters for each of his cabinet ministers address how departments can be involved in nation to nation building, said Ahmad.

The third key relationship is Canada’s relationship with its closest neighbour and largest trading partner, the United States. Trudeau and U.S. president Barack Obama made headlines when the prime minister and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, visited the White House, charming Barack and Michelle Obama and millions of Americans.

Canada’s ambassador to the United States, David MacNaughton, will attend the Sudbury cabinet retreat to discuss how to further strengthen Canada’s association with the U.S.

Nickel Belt Liberal MP Marc Serre said building relationships is a big part of the work he has been doing since he was elected in October in the Trudeau sweep. Serre has met with the mayors of the six municipalities in his riding and has also met with people from three first nations in Nickel Belt.

Serre also sits on the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, and has travelled to Washington and Calgary representing Canada.

He said he is excited, humbled and honoured to have Trudeau and his 30 ministers come to the Sudbury area.

The Nickel Belt MP said holding the retreat in Sudbury is significant. It supports and reinforces the efforts he and Sudbury Liberal MP Paul Lefebvre have been making to draw attention to the northern ridings.it

Serre said he and Lefebvre will host the Monday barbecue, which he expects many residents to attend. There will be parking available at the lots off York Street because there may not be room to accommodate attendees at Science North.

CMulligan@postmedia.com