Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly traveled to Palm, Florida, ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort, days after the U.S. president-elect threatened the neighboring country with import tariffs. He said he had arrived at the beach. Once he takes office.
The Canadian prime minister's public itinerary does not include a planned visit to Florida. Neither Prime Minister Trudeau's office nor representatives for President Trump immediately responded to requests for comment.
Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper, citing two anonymous sources, reported that Prime Minister Trudeau traveled to Florida to meet with President Trump. CNN later reported, citing sources, that President Trump was scheduled to have dinner with Prime Minister Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc was also with Trudeau, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
President Trump on Monday threatened to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico until they crack down on drugs, particularly fentanyl, and immigration across the border.
Officials and major industry groups in Mexico, Canada and China have warned that the high tariffs threatened by President Trump will harm the economies of all countries involved, causing a spike in inflation and damaging the job market.
A hit to the Canadian economy would deepen Trudeau's woes, as his popularity has waned due to the economic slowdown and sharply rising cost of living over the past few years. Opinion polls show Prime Minister Trudeau's Liberal Party will lose to the opposition Conservative Party in the election, which must be held by late October 2025.
Prime Minister Trudeau this week pledged to remain united against President Trump's tariff threats and convened a meeting with the premiers of all 10 Canadian provinces to discuss their relationship with the United States.
Canada is the world's fourth largest oil producer and sixth largest natural gas producer. Most of the country's 4 million barrels per day of crude oil exports go to the United States.
President Trump's plan would not exempt crude oil from trade sanctions, two sources familiar with the plan told Reuters on Tuesday.
Last year, more than three-quarters of Canada's exports worth C$592.7 billion (approximately $423 billion) went to the United States, and about two million Canadian jobs depend on trade.
Government officials said Canada is considering possible retaliatory tariffs against the United States.
Some have suggested that President Trump's tariff threats could become more explicit or even serve as a prelude to future trade negotiations. However, Prime Minister Trudeau rejected this view during an earlier meeting with reporters in Prince Edward Island.
“When Donald Trump says something like that, he means to do it,” Trudeau said. “There's no question about that.”
with Agence France-Presse
