Inside Justin Trudeau’s surprise dinner with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida
Trudeau and LeBlanc discussed trade and the border over dinner with the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
... At the end of the surprise summit, there was no indication that Trump would drop his threat to impose a massive 25-per cent surcharge on Canadian products, announced by Trump on social media Monday — a threat that, if executed, would have a devastating impact on Canadian energy, auto and manufacturing exports.
Still, the meeting between Trump, Trudeau and several of the future president’s advisers and their wives lasted more than three hours, and was described by a senior Canadian official as a positive, wide-ranging discussion.
....The face-to-face meeting came at Trudeau’s suggestion, said the Canadian source with knowledge of their communications.
They discussed trade, border security, fentanyl, defence matters including NATO, Ukraine, and icebreakers (Canada, the U.S. and Finland recently agreed to a trilateral pact to rebuild their icebreaking fleets). The leaders and their teams also discussed China, energy issues and pipelines, including those that feed Canadian oil and gas into the U.S. like Keystone XL, Line 5, as well as the Trans-Mountain project and Canada’s liquid natural gas export capacity, the official said, speaking on a background-only basis to disclose some details of the private meeting.
The two leaders also discussed next year’s G7 meeting that Trudeau will host in Kananaskis, Alta. It will be held seven years after Trump left the 2018 G7 at Charlevoix, Que., only to erupt in anger later after Trudeau said Canada would stand up and fight American steel and aluminum tariffs.
That outburst led many to believe Trump retained a dislike of Trudeau, however the two leaders managed a working relationship after that and have had friendly conversations since Trump’s re-election, according to two Canadian sources.
Friday night’s summit, undisclosed to media in advance, was seen as a chance to kick-start the relationship anew, and to connect with some of Trump’s advisers who will be players in his second term.
The menu included a dish called “Mary Trump’s Meat Loaf,” as well as a fava bean falafel appetizer, pan seared trout with braised baby artichokes or a kimchi fried rice Asian bowl as a vegan option, said officials.
The presence of LeBlanc, the minister responsible for border security, was aimed at countering Trump’s claim in his online statement that “thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before.” He said if Canada and Mexico didn’t act, he would exact a “very big price” on their economies.
LeBlanc has said that the Trudeau government is prepared to beef up border security, with more money for technology, drones and more Mounties and border guards on the 49th parallel.
LeBlanc, who ordered the Mary Trump meat loaf dish Friday, is also a hail-fellow-well-met political actor who is trusted by Trudeau, and gets along well with his ideological opposites, like Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
...Canada’s ambassador to Washington Kirsten Hillman and Trudeau’s deputy chief of staff Brian Clow were also at the Mar-a-Lago dinner, having travelled ahead to Florida to accompany the Canadian delegation.
Earlier Friday, without tipping his hand, Trudeau said in Prince Edward Island that what is “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.
“Our responsibility is to point out that in this way, he would actually not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States, he would actually be raising prices for American citizens as well, and hurting American industry and businesses.”
Trudeau added, “ultimately, it is through lots of constructive, real conversations with President Trump that I’m going to have that will keep us moving forward on the right track for all Canadians.”
...“I’m surprised and impressed,” said Flavio Volpe, head of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, that the Canadian leader was meeting with the president-elect, adding that kind of personal facetime with the former and future president is invaluable for Trudeau, and for Canada in the months ahead.
“The PM is demonstrating the humility that’s required (by) going to the source. Also the prime minister is demonstrating to the contrary of all the predictions (the idea) that Donald Trump wouldn’t want to work with him is untrue.”
Volpe said “nothing final” may come of the meeting, however he said the federal government may get a sense of what the next steps could be.
