The office of Dominic LeBlanc, the minister in charge of U.S. trade, confirmed to The Globe that he is still in Washington.

Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister in charge of U.S. trade , has remained in Washington in the days after Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Tuesday White House visit to pursue high-level negotiations aimed at lifting punishing tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, lumber and autos.

The talks have taken on an intensity that has led to some optimism on the Canadian side that substantial progress can be made on sector-specific trade irritants, three government sources say.

The sources say Mr. LeBlanc, Privy Council Clerk Michael Sabia and Canadian ambassador Kirsten Hillman, who is Ottawa’s chief negotiator, have been holding talks since Tuesday with U.S. Commerce Secre

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