High-ranking Canadian officials met with top aides to Donald Trump on Friday to discuss border security and the potential impact of tariffs that the president-elect has threatened to impose when he takes office next month.
Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly traveled to Mar-a-Lago for a meeting with Howard Lutnick and Doug Burgum, Trump’s picks to the lead the departments of Commerce and the Interior, respectively.
A spokesperson for the Canadian Finance Ministry said the meeting was “positive” and “productive,” and served as a follow-up to Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s dinner last month after Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian goods.
“Both Ministers outlined the measures in Canada’s Border Plan and reiterated the shared commitment to strengthen border security as well as combat the harm caused by fentanyl to save Canadian and American lives,” said spokesperson Jean-Sébastien Comeau in a statement.
The meeting did not appear to change things on the tariff front, though Lutnick and Burgum agreed to “relay information” to Trump, according to Comeau.
The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday night.
Going into the meeting, a separate spokesperson for the Finance Ministry said: “The Ministers intend to focus on Canada’s efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking and illegal migration and the measures outlined in Canada’s Border Plan, as well as the negative impacts that the imposition of 25% tariffs on Canadian goods would have on both Canada and the United States.”
The meeting comes on the heels of Trump’s repeated vows to enact tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Trump has cast the tariffs as a response to border security, arguing that Canada and Mexico are contributing to the flow of illegal drugs, such as fentanyl, into the U.S.
Data provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that fentanyl seized at the northern border is a minute fraction of the amounts seized in other regions.
Canada and Mexico are two of the United States’ top trading partners, meaning tariffs would have wide-ranging effects.
Trump has recently mocked Trudeau by referring to him as “governor” of Canada. In social media posts on Christmas, Trump repeated the moniker while suggesting the U.S. could annex the country as its 51st state.
