McGuigan's advises his colleagues: Meet their new US counterparts

McGuigan to Minister of Finance Allan MacEachern December 18 1980

Continuing his oversight of the Canadian government’s preparation for the Reagan administration, McGuigan sent letters to members of the Cabinet urging them to make early contact with their American counterpart designates, in this case Finance Minister Allan MacEachen with Treasury Secretary designate Donald Regan. This document clear attests to the importance McGuigan gave to the creating an effective overall Canada-US government-to-government rapport, perhaps anticipating that creating as such between Trudeau and Reagan would not be a natural one. McGuigan achieved a reasonable rapport with his counterpart, the choleric Alexander Haig, which helped mitigate friction with Washington on broader global issues.