Canada's new foreign affairs minister meets in D.C. with U.S. counterpart Blinken

Canada won't shy away from defending its national interests when North America's three leaders sit down together next week, Melanie Joly said Friday as she wrapped up her first stateside visit as the new foreign affairs minister.

Joly said that was part of the message she delivered earlier in the day when she sat down with her U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The meeting came one week before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to meet with President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the White House, ostensibly to talk about how to reinforce continental supply chains.

Canada and Mexico, however, are both deeply worried about the Biden administration's proposed tax credit for electric vehicles, which foreign automakers, suppliers and industry leaders say is overly friendly towards union-friendly U.S. companies.

"We know that we have a strong economy because of this integrated supply chain and because of this friendship, but at the same time, Canadians know that we have to defend our interests, and we can never take anything for granted," Joly said after the meeting.