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THE BEST

Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland

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With tireless effort bringing 28 countries and a multinational bureaucracy on board, Chrystia Freeland was instrumental in ensuring the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union went ahead.

Much of the deal had been negotiated by the previous government, but new pressures and fears threatened CETA throughout the year, necessitating renegotiation and a lot of persuasion.

If Freeland had not intervened with its Social Democratic Party, Germany may never have signed CETA. And as the Belgian region of Wallonia blockaded CETA this fall, her emotional walk-out from meetings with its prime minister proved effective.

Despite post-election bluster from the United States, Freeland has remained a shrewd and vocal supporter of free trade and globalization. There’s little doubt she is preparing to press an incoming Trump administration on preserving the North American Free Trade Agreement and finally resolving a lingering softwood lumber dispute.