Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Donald Trump’s Florida resort on Friday to meet with the U.S. President-elect, days after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on Canadian imports over border-related concerns.
Trudeau, whose public itinerary did not list a scheduled visit to Florida, was seen leaving a hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida, to go to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a Reuters witness.
Trudeau’s office and Trump’s representatives did not immediately responded to requests for comment.
Trump threatened on Monday to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico until the countries clamped down on drugs, particularly fentanyl, and migrants crossing their borders with the U.S.
Officials from Mexico, Canada and China, along with major industry groups, have warned that the hefty tariffs threatened by Trump would harm the economies of all countries involved, cause inflation to spike and damage job markets.
Any hit to the Canadian economy would add to Trudeau’s woes at a time when his popularity has sunk in part due to a slowing economy and a surge in the cost of living over the past few years. Polls show Trudeau’s Liberals would lose to the opposition Conservative party in an election that must be held by late October 2025.
Trudeau this week pledged to stay united against Trump’s tariff threat and called a meeting with the premiers of all 10 Canadian provinces to discuss U.S. relations.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc is traveling with Trudeau, CBC News reported.
Canada is the world’s fourth-largest oil producer and sixth-largest natural gas producer. The vast majority of its 4 million barrels per day of crude exports go to the U.S.
Trump’s plan does not exempt crude oil from the trade penalties, two sources familiar with the plan told Reuters on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Timothy Reid in West Palm Beach and Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Richard Chang and William Mallard)