Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Visits Trump’s Florida Resort Amid Tariff Threats
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Friday, surprising many as his public itinerary did not list the schedule visit. This comes just days after Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada over border-related concerns.
Trudeau’s office and Trump’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the visit. Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Canadian imports has been met with strong opposition from key allies, including Mexico, which is also a target of the tariffs. Against this backdrop, Trudeau’s decision to visit Trump’s resort has raised eyebrows.
The proposed tariffs threaten to harm the Canadian economy, causing inflation to spike and damaging job markets. The economy has already been slowing down, and the living costs have surged in recent years. This has led to a decline in Trudeau’s popularity, with polls suggesting that the opposition Conservative party could win the next election, which is scheduled to take place by October 2025.
In response to Trump’s tariff threat, Trudeau this week pledged to stay united against the proposal, holding a meeting with the premiers of all 10 Canadian provinces to discuss US-Canada relations. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc is accompanying Trudeau on his trip.
Canada is the world’s fourth-largest oil producer and sixth-largest natural gas producer, with the majority of its 4 million barrels per day of crude exports going to the United States. Trump’s plan does not exempt crude oil from the trade penalties, according to sources familiar with the plan.