Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plane appears to be headed for West Palm Beach, Florida, according to public aviation trackers.
The West Palm Beach airport will be used by US President-elect Donald Trump when he visits his Mar-a-Lago mansion. President Trump has been meeting with his transition team at Mar-a-Lago in recent weeks.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the visit. But Trudeau returned to Ottawa from a press conference on P.E.I. on Friday, picked up ministers and flew to the United States, a person familiar with the matter told CBC News on condition of anonymity.
President Trump on Monday night imposed a 25% tax on all imports from Canada and Mexico unless they stop what he called the “invasion” of drugs, particularly fentanyl, and all illegal aliens into the United States. said.
Prime Minister Trudeau spoke by phone with President Trump on Monday night after the president-elect announced his tariff commitments. The Prime Minister said on Tuesday morning that the two sides had had a “good dialogue”.
“We obviously talked about how a strong and effective link between our two countries goes back and forth. We talked about some of the challenges that we can work on together,” Trudeau told reporters. ” he said.
The two leaders spoke for about 10 minutes on Monday night, mainly discussing trade and border security, according to a government official familiar with the call. Prime Minister Trudeau pointed out that the number of migrants crossing from Canada to the United States is only a fraction of those crossing from Mexico, the official said.
Prime Minister Trudeau held a virtual meeting with Canadian prime ministers on Wednesday night to discuss strategy in response to President Trump’s tariff threats.
If President Trump follows through on his promise, it could have a huge impact on Canada’s economy.
America imported CAD 614.3 billion worth of goods from Canada in 2022according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. According to recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States has approximately Canadian products worth CAD 435 billion From January to September of this year.
President Trump said the 25% tariff was due to concerns about the border with both Canada and Mexico.
“These tariffs will remain in effect until we stop drugs, especially fentanyl, and all illegal aliens from invading our country!” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and authority to simply resolve this long-simmering problem. We hereby demand that they exercise this authority. Until they do so, It’s time to pay a big price!”
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc earlier this week reassured Canadians that the government and law enforcement agencies are secure at the border and “demonstrates to the American people the historical and daily partnership that exists between the RCMP and U.S. government agencies.” He said Canadians can expect that.
