Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is meeting with Donald Trump in Florida as Canada attempts to head off the president-elect’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, a source confirmed to the BBC.
Canadian media reported that Trudeau arrived at Palm Beach International Airport on Friday night and went to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate to visit Trump.
The two spoke by phone earlier this week after Trump announced he would take office in January. He will impose sweeping tariffs Applies to all products entering the United States from Mexico and Canada.
Neither the prime minister’s office nor the Trump campaign responded to requests for comment on the visit.
The trip was not included in Trudeau’s public schedule for Friday. Sources say the two will have dinner together.
Trump has been attending meetings at Mar-a-Lago with his transition team. Trudeau is reportedly the first G7 leader to visit the president-elect since the election.
Trudeau has often stressed that the two countries successfully renegotiated a major trade agreement during Trump’s first term, despite occasional rockiness in the relationship between the two leaders.
Speaking at an event in Prince Edward Island on Friday, Trudeau said the two countries “roll up their sleeves and can create jobs on both sides of the border.”
He said he looked forward to having many “wonderful” conversations with Trump.
The visit to Florida is the latest move by Canada to seek to avoid high tariffs, which could have widespread economic impacts.
It’s unclear whether the incoming Trump administration will actually push for tariff threats, as analysts note that the president-elect is known to have used such threats in the past as a negotiating tactic to achieve his goals.
Trump also threatened to impose the same tariffs on Mexico and said they would remain in place until the two countries worked to secure a common border with the United States.
Trudeau said Friday that “when Trump makes a statement like this, he plans to follow through on it.”
He said his goal was to point out that tariffs would not only hurt Canadians but also raise prices for Americans and harm the country’s economy.
Accompanying Trudeau on the trip is Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for border security.
US media reported that Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Commerce, had dinner with Trudeau and Trump. Doug Burgum, appointed to lead the Interior Department; Mike Waltz selected as the next national security adviser.
Canada is one of the United States’ largest trading partners, with approximately 75% of its total exports going to the United States. The two countries also have deeply integrated supply chains.
After speaking with Trump, Trudeau held an emergency meeting with leaders of Canadian provinces and territories on Wednesday to discuss how to handle U.S.-Canada relations.
Trudeau promised a unified “Team Canada” approach to work with the United States to oppose the tax.
Many leaders from various Canadian provinces Criticized Trump’s plansaying it would have a devastating blow to the country’s economy, including the oil, gas and automobile industries.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also had a phone call with Trump this week.
The number of people crossing the U.S.-Canada border is significantly lower than at the southern border, according to U.S. Border Patrol data on migrant encounters.
In fiscal year 2024, approximately 23,700 people were apprehended at the northern land border, while more than 1.53 million people were apprehended at the southern border.
But Canadian officials have said in recent days that a concerted effort is still needed to improve border security.
