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Trudeau will visit Mar-a-Lago on Friday evening to meet Trump following the threat of tariffs against Canada
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Trudeau will visit Mar-a-Lago on Friday evening to meet Trump following the threat of tariffs against Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday evening as 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 an area hotel. 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, has officials in Canada concerned.

The US and Canada are each other’s largest trading partners: about 80 percent of Canadian oil exports go to the US.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford described Trump’s plans as “like having a family member stab you right in the heart.”

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

“Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he intends to carry them out. There is no doubt about that,” Trudeau told reporters earlier on Friday.

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

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

Trudeau’s plane diplomacy is in stark contrast to the approach of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, who has opted for a slightly more confrontational approach from a distance.

This week, she sent a letter to Trump accusing him of misrepresenting the dynamics at the border and threatening a “similar response” to U.S. tariffs.

“Seventy percent of illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country,” she wrote. “We do not produce these weapons or use synthetic drugs. Tragically, lives are being lost in our country due to the violence that comes from meeting the demand for drugs in yours.”

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

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

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

All three countries are keeping a close eye on 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 recognized again in 2026.