CNN —
President-elect Donald Trump had dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday evening at Mar-a-Lago.
The meeting came just days after Trump promised massive hikes in tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada starting on the first day of his administration, specifically calling for a 25% tariff on all products sent to the US.
As Trudeau left a hotel in West Palm Beach on Saturday, he said his dinner with the president-elect the night before “was an excellent conversation.”
He did not stop to take further shouted questions about whether the two discussed tariffs or how he’s feeling about his relationship with the US president-elect.
Trump said Saturday that he and Trudeau had a “very productive meeting” and discussed a range of topics, including fentanyl crossing the border and the “massive trade deficit the U.S. has with Canada.”
“I just had a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We discussed many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address, like the Fentanyl and Drug Crisis that has decimated so many lives as a result of Illegal Immigration, Fair Trade Deals that do not jeopardize American Workers, and the massive Trade Deficit the U.S. has with Canada.”
During an unrelated Friday morning news conference, Trudeau said he looks forward to having “lots of great conversations” with Trump and that the two will “work together to meet some of the concerns and respond to some of the issues.”
“One of the things that is really important to understand is that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There’s no question about it,” Trudeau said Friday. “Our responsibility is to point out that in this way he would be actually not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States; he’d actually be raising prices for American citizens as well and hurting American industry and businesses.”
Some of Trump’s Cabinet picks attended the dinner with Trudeau Friday evening, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — whom Trump has asked to serve as Interior secretary — and his wife, Kathryn.
Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser pick, and Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick, his Commerce secretary pick, were also at the table with their spouses.
Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, and Canadian Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc were also in attendance.
Canada’s Global News was first to report the list of who would be attending the dinner.
Trump’s punishing tariffs, if enacted, could wreak havoc on America’s supply chains and industries reliant on goods from the country’s closest trading partners.
CNN previously reported that after the president-elect’s announcement, Trump and Trudeau had a brief call that was focused on border security and trade. A senior Canadian government source characterized the call as productive and told CNN that the two promised to stay in touch in the days to come.
During Trump’s first administration, the US and Canada at times had a rocky relationship, particularly on the issue of trade. Trump used tariffs against Canada during negotiations over replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Many US imports from Canada and Mexico are exempted from tariffs because of the USMCA trade agreement among the three nations that Trump pushed for during his first administration. It’s not clear how Trump would plan to implement the proposed tariffs without violating the USMCA.
Earlier this week, Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for the first time following Trump’s tariff announcement, but they have offered conflicting statements about the call.
Trump said Wednesday that Sheinbaum agreed to shut down the US-Mexico border, but Sheinbaum on Thursday denied doing so.
Sheinbaum has also suggested that Mexico would retaliate with counter-tariffs if Trump went through with his threat.
Trump has faced backlash over his tariff proposal in the recent days, including from President Joe Biden, who called it “counterproductive” and warned it could “begin to screw up” the US’ relationships with Canada and Mexico.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Paula Newton, Kim Berryman, Kaanita Iyer and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.
