U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is quickly building out his cabinet, and some of his most high-profile nominees will become key figures in the Canada-U.S. relationship if confirmed.
The next secretaries of state, homeland security and defence will be tasked with advancing the Trump administration’s interests abroad and will be the ones pressing Canada to align with U.S. stances on foreign policy, immigration and military spending, among other issues.
Most of the nominees Trump has announced so far are current or former Republican lawmakers in Congress and governors, who have been among his most staunch defenders. Analysts say that shows Trump is prioritizing loyalty and the ability to navigate the legislative process above all else.
“Donald Trump’s choices so far signal he is serious about pursuing the policies he campaigned on,” Matthew Lebo, a political science professor at Western University, told Global News in an email.
All of Trump’s nominees will need U.S. Senate confirmation, but many of his choices so far are expected to get relatively easy approval with Republicans in solid control of the chamber.
Here’s a look at the faces Canadians may get to know very well once the second Trump administration is up and running next year.
Marco Rubio — Secretary of State
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has been tapped to serve as Trump’s secretary of state, making him the top diplomat for the United States.
A prominent critic of China and Iran, Rubio has been a leader in the Senate on foreign relations and intelligence issues and is seen as a foreign policy “hawk” with hardline views.
“There’s probably no one in the Senate who really knows foreign affairs better than Marco Rubio,” said Christian Leuprecht, a professor at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College and a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
Although previously supportive of Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, Rubio has more recently said Ukraine needs to seek a negotiated settlement with Moscow and voted against the most recent round of U.S. military and humanitarian aid.
Trump and vice-president-elect JD Vance have made similar comments about ending the war, which has raised concerns about what Russia could gain in peace talks.
As a senator, Rubio co-sponsored legislation passed by Congress last year that would make it harder for a president to withdraw from NATO, which now requires approval by at least two-thirds of the U.S. Senate.
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Trump has long railed against NATO allies that don’t pay their fair share on defence — a frequent frustration raised by U.S. officials about Canada — and some Trump critics, including his former national security adviser John Bolton, fear Trump will try to withdraw the U.S. from the alliance.
On the diplomatic front, Rubio is expected to be joined by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, who Trump nominated to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik has served in Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives and is a fierce defender of Trump’s agenda.
Stefanik has also led efforts to curb antisemitism in the U.S., particularly in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Her appointment, as well as staunch Israel defender Mike Huckabee as U.S. ambassador to Israel, come after both have been vocal in their support for Israel amid the Middle East conflict.
In July, Rubio and other Republican senators raised concerns about “Gazans with potential terrorist ties to enter the U.S. through Canada” after Ottawa eased temporary visa restrictions for Canadian family members fleeing Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
Kristi Noem — Homeland Security Secretary
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was re-elected to a second term in a landslide in 2022, is one of Trump’s fiercest defenders and has been an outspoken critic of U.S. immigration policy.
As Homeland Security secretary, she will oversee key border and immigration enforcement agencies such as U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Her closest counterpart in Canada is Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, and she is likely to be the face of U.S. pressure on Canada to increase immigration enforcement measures and reduce entries.
Noem, whose home state is closer to Canada than Mexico, has made several trips in recent years to the U.S.-Mexico border, which she called a “warzone” in January. She has deployed dozens of National Guard troops to assist the Republican-led state of Texas with border security.
In 2022, Noem equated Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to quell the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protests, which involved freezing organizers’ financial accounts, with “communist China’s social credit system.”
Canada is South Dakota’s top export market, and the state sees more than $750 million in agricultural trade alone.
Leuprecht said Noem’s time as governor could mean she sympathizes with the jurisdictional concerns of provinces like Quebec and Alberta when it comes to immigration and other issues, but also see the value of maintaining free trade with Canada while clamping down on the border.
Alongside Noem, Trump’s immigration policy will also be led by former top ICE official Tom Homan as his administration’s incoming “border czar.” Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s first-term immigration agenda, will join the new administration as White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser.
Lebo said Homan and Miller’s appointments “are signs Trump is serious about mass deportations,” which experts fear will have implications for Canada’s economy and border security.
Pete Hegseth – Defense Secretary
Trump’s choice to lead the Pentagon, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, is unusual given Hegseth’s lack of government experience — and could face the most difficult path to confirmation.
A U.S. Army veteran who served in the Middle East, Hegseth has been an outspoken supporter of military members as well as a critic of the modern military as an institution. In 2019, Hegseth successfully lobbied Trump to pardon U.S. service members who had been accused of war crimes, after making the case for them on air at Fox.
In his book The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, released earlier this year, Hegseth rails against diversity and inclusion measures in the military and in recruitment and promotion criteria, calling such programs “woke.” Trump has similarly criticized “woke” generals and vowed to replace them as president.
Hegseth’s book also includes criticism of NATO, which he calls “outdated, outgunned, invaded, and impotent” and echoes Trump’s repeated pledge to not defend alliance members that don’t meet defence spending commitments.
“Why should America, the European ’emergency contact number’ for the past century, listen to self-righteous and impotent nations asking us to honor outdated and one-sided defense arrangements they no longer live up to?” Hegseth wrote.
Leuprecht said it would generally be a good move to appoint someone without military experience as defence secretary, in order to avoid clashing with career military leaders on decision-making.
“The last thing you need is another expert at the top of the department,” he said. “You actually want somebody who can generally make sense of the department and figure out how the department relates to other departments, to Congress and to the presidency.”
Trump did tap a former military member, Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, to serve as his national security adviser. Waltz, a retired retired Army Green Beret who did multiple combat tours as a colonel in the National Guard, is a hardline critic of China, and has taken notice of reports of China’s alleged interference in Canada’s elections.
In a social media post last year, Waltz called allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections “a MASSIVE scandal” and suggested Beijing wanted to keep the Liberals in power.
He has also been openly critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, cheering on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to win the next election.
