Trump had dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago

CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump will have dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Friday night at Mar-a-Lago, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN.

Some members of Trudeau’s cabinet are expected to attend the dinner, a senior Canadian official told CNN. Trudeau is expected to leave Mar-a-Lago shortly after dinner.

The meeting comes just days after Trump promised massive increases in tariffs on goods coming from Mexico and Canada starting on the first day of his administration, specifically calling for a 25% tariff on all products sent to the United States.

“One of the things that’s really important to understand is that when Donald Trump makes these kinds of statements, he plans to carry them out. There’s no question about that,” Trudeau told reporters during an unrelated news conference Friday morning. “Our responsibility is to point out that in this way he would not only hurt Canadians who work so well with the United States; he would actually also raise prices for American citizens and hurt American industry and business.”

Trudeau said he looks forward to having “lots of good conversations” with Trump and that the two will “work together to address some of the concerns and respond to some of the issues.”

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, whom Trump has tapped to serve as interior secretary, and his wife, Kathryn, will attend the dinner with Trudeau, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, Trump’s pick for national security adviser, and Trump co-chairman Howard Lutnick, his pick for commerce secretary, are also at the table with their spouses, a source confirmed.

Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, and Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc are also in attendance, the same source confirmed.

Canada’s Global News was first to report the list of who is attending the dinner.

Trump’s punitive tariffs, if passed, could wreak havoc on US supply chains and industries that depend on goods from the country’s closest trading partners.

CNN previously reported that after the president-elect’s announcement, Trump and Trudeau had a brief call that focused on border security and trade. A senior Canadian government source characterized the call as productive and told CNN that the two promised to stay in touch in the coming days.

During Trump’s first administration, the United States and Canada had a rocky relationship at times, especially on the issue of trade. Trump used tariffs against Canada during negotiations to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Many US imports from Canada and Mexico are exempt from tariffs because of the USMCA trade agreement between the three nations, which Trump pushed for during his first administration. It is not clear how Trump would plan to implement the proposed tariffs without violating the USMCA.

Earlier this week, Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for the first time since Trump’s tariff announcement, but they have offered conflicting statements about the call.

Trump said Wednesday that Sheinbaum agreed to close the U.S.-Mexico border, but Sheinbaum denied doing so on Thursday.

Sheinbaum has also suggested that Mexico would retaliate with counter-tariffs if Trump followed through on his threat.

Trump has faced backlash over his tariff proposal in recent days, including from President Joe Biden, who called it “counterproductive” and warned it could “start to destroy” US relations with Canada and Mexico.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN’s Kit Maher, Paula Newton, Kim Berryman, Kaanita Iyer and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.