Canada says US midterms won't change trade stance, sees talks with American officials

OTTAWA - A senior Canadian cabinet minister said on Wednesday the US midterm results would not change Ottawa's stance towards trade talks with the US, adding he would speak soon to his American counterparts.

Democrats seized control of both the Senate and House of Representatives, blaming rising costs on the war with Iran and President Donald Trump's policy of imposing tariffs on goods from major trading partners such as Canada.

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Dominic LeBlanc, the minister in charge of US trade ties, said "to a certain extent last night's results are interesting, but they will not have any significant impact in terms of our government's focus and work."

LeBlanc told reporters that he planned to speak to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer over the next few days.

Trump said on Tuesday the United States was close to making a trade deal with Canada, but Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said work remained to be done and that Washington had dropped some demands.