BREAKING: Trudeau heads to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump after tariff threat
Trump threatened Canadian imports with a 25 parent tariff if the country does not control illegal immigration and drug trafficking across the US border.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s jet was spotted heading to Florida’s West Palm Beach on Friday, the closest airport to President-elect Donald Trump’s Ma-a-Lago home. The CBC reported that the plane landed at that airport and later reports confirmed that the two were slated to meet at the sprawling coastal estate. Trump had recently threatened the northern neighbor with 25% tariffs if Canada did not curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking across the US border.
Trudeau said that the nation would do more to ramp up border security as his tactics came under fire from the Conservative Party. Premiers across the country called on Trudeau to handle the situation without burdening an already beleaguered Canadian economy.
Global reports that the dinner meeting between Trump and Trudeau was attended by
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau President-Elect Donald Trump PM’s Chief of Staff, Katie Telford Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc Governor Doug Burgum (Interior Secretary) Howard Lutnick (Commerce Secretary) Mike Waltz (National Security Advisor)”
The Canadian prime minister called an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss what he called a “Team Canada” response to the threat of tariffs. Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative Leader, said that Trudeau would need a “Canada First” strategy, which he’s been advocating for even as Trudeau has downplayed the situation.
“Let your motto be, Canada first, Canada last and Canada always,” Poilievre said on Wednesday. Poilievre also called for Trudeau to cancel caps on oil as well as natural gas.
Trudeau released his own video earlier in November announcing an intended reduction in the number of immigrants that would be admitted to Canada. Trudeau and Trump spoke via phone where the two discussed the tariffs. “This is something that we can do,” Trudeau said. “Laying out the facts, moving forward in constructive ways.”
“This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of working on and that’s what we’ll do,” he added when speaking to reporters, per Politico.