Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Florida to meet with US President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Global News has learned.
The trip comes days after Trump threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico unless both countries stop immigrants and illegal drugs from crossing the border.
Flight data showed that the plane usually used by the prime minister for travel landed in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday night, which is the closest airport to Mar-a-Lago.
Global News has learned that Trudeau will spend the night in West Palm Beach and fly back to Canada on Saturday morning. He won’t stay at Mar-a-Lago.
Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc is also present, Global News has learned.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not publicly confirm the meeting with Trump and it was not on Trudeau’s itinerary for Friday.
Trudeau and Trump spoke by phone Monday night after the US president-elect made the tariff threat on social media.
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The prime minister also called an emergency meeting with the country’s prime ministers at their request on Wednesday to discuss the tariffs.
After the meeting, the premiers and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said they had agreed on a “unified” approach to addressing the issue, including the economic risks and border security concerns raised by Trump.
Freeland and LeBlanc, who co-chair the Cabinet committee on U.S.-Canada relations that was revived after Trump’s election victory, said there were opportunities to work with the United States on border security and concerns about China.
At a news conference in Prince Edward Island early Friday, Trudeau says he believes Trump’s tariff threats should be taken seriously.
“One of the things that’s really important to understand is that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans to follow through with them,” Trudeau told reporters in Mount Stewart, Prince Edward Island. “There is no doubt about it.
“Our responsibility is to point out that by doing so you would not only be hurting Canadians who work so well with the United States, but you would also be raising prices for American citizens and hurting American industry and businesses. .”
—With files from Saba Aziz of Global and the Canadian Press
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
