Trudeau visits Mar-a-Lago Friday night to meet Trump after threatening tariffs on Canada

On By Littum

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in Palm Beach, Florida on Friday night, part of reported plans to dine with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago after the president-elect threatened Canada with sweeping tariffs earlier this week.

Neither Trump nor Trudeau publicly announced the meeting, but the Canadian official was seen leaving a hotel in the area. He reportedly traveled to Florida with Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

Earlier this week, Trump threatened Canada and Mexico with 25 percent tariffs in what the Republican said was an effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

The proposal, which would likely cause massive economic disruption, alarmed officials in Canada.

The United States and Canada are each other’s largest trading partners, with about 80 percent of Canadian oil exports going to the United States

Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, described Trump’s plans as “like a family member stabbing you right in the heart.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Treadeau leaves his hotel as he heads to meet US President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Treadeau leaves his hotel as he heads to meet US President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida (AFP via Getty Images)

“Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans to carry them out. There’s no question about that,” Trudeau told reporters earlier Friday.

“Our responsibility is to point out that in this way he would actually not only harm Canadians who work so well with the United States,” he added. “He would actually also raise prices for American citizens and hurt American industry. and businesses.”

The Mar-a-Lago meeting comes after Trump and Trudeau spoke by phone on Monday, in which Trudeau said was a “good call”.

Trudeau’s aerial diplomacy contrasts with the approach of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, who has taken a slightly more confrontational approach from afar.

This week, she sent a letter to Trump accusing him of misrepresenting the dynamics at the border and threatening an “in-kind response” to US tariffs.

“seventy percent of the illegal guns seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country,” she wrote. “We do not produce these weapons, nor do we use synthetic substances. Tragically, in our country, lives are being lost because of the violence that results from meeting the demand for drugs in your.”

“Such a measure would be unacceptable and would lead to inflation and job losses in both the United States and Mexico,” she added of the tariffs.

She also pushed back on claims by Trump on Wednesday after the president-elect posted on Truth Social that the Mexican leader had agreed to stop migration through Mexico and into the United States, effectively closing our southern border.”

“We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders, but to maintain bridges between governments and peoples,” she said, pointing to Mexican efforts to provide assistance to migrants entering the country.

All three countries are closely watching trade dynamics as they are all parties to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the successor to NAFTA negotiated under the Trump administration.

The USMCA is due to be abandoned in 2026.