Trudeau and Trump meeting for dinner in Florida, sources say
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OTTAWA – Shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived home in Ottawa on Friday afternoon following an overnight trip to Prince Edward Island, he quietly boarded another government aircraft bound for the Sunshine State.
And while the PMO has so far maintained radio silence on the mystery trip, sources tell the Toronto Sun that Trudeau is destined for Mar-a-Lago for a dinner meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.
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Roughly 20 minutes after Trudeau’s plane arrived from Charlottetown, a second Challenger business jet bearing the callsign CANFORCE ONE – used whenever the PM is aboard – departed Ottawa, heading due south.
After flying south across the eastern seaboard, the aircraft landed at the West Palm Beach airport, a short drive from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, where the president-elect’s transition team is based.
While the PMO’s itinerary made no mention of the trip and inquires to the PMO went unanswered, sources tell the Toronto Sun that dinner with Trump was the purpose of the visit.
The Canadian Press reported that Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose purview includes the Canada Border Services Agency, tagged along for the trip.
It was less than a week ago that Trump announced 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico if either nation didn’t tighten their borders by the time he’s sworn in as president, citing illicit drugs and illegal immigrants flooding into the U.S. from Canada.
“This tariff will remain in effect until such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social social media platform.
Trump had a phone call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum two days ago to discuss the issue.
Despite months of Trump campaigning on alarming protectionist trade reforms, the Trudeau Liberals have repeatedly rolled out the “no need to panic” defence when questioned by both reporters and opposition members.
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The meeting with Trump also comes just days after the PM met with provincial premiers to discuss the issue.
In a statement shortly after that meeting, Premier Council Chair Doug Ford said that Ontario has spent months pushing Trudeau to make a stand, and hopes it was the beginning of a more “proactive approach” from Ottawa, and proof that Canada takes our borders seriously.
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