Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised President-elect Donald Trump that Canada will tighten controls along the long-unsecured joint border, a senior Canadian official said on Sunday.
Trudeau flew to Florida on Friday to have dinner with Trump, who has promised to impose tariffs on Canadian imports unless Ottawa stops migrants and drugs from crossing the border.
Canada ships 75% of all goods and services exports to the United States and the tariffs would hit the economy hard.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who sat at the head table with Trudeau and Trump, said the two men discussed additional security measures to be introduced by Canada.
“For example, we’re looking at purchasing additional drones, additional police helicopters, we’re going to redeploy personnel… We believe the border is secure,” he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
He added, “I think it’s important to show Canadians and Americans that we are moving forward in a clear and strong way and that’s what we’re going to do.” He promised more details in the coming days and weeks. come.
Canada will maintain that tariffs would hurt both countries, he said, given how interconnected the two economies are.
He described the dinner meeting as very warm and cordial, saying, “I am confident that the Americans will understand that it is not in their best interest to proceed in this manner.”
Trump said Saturday he discussed the border, trade and energy in a “very productive” meeting with Trudeau.
The friendly nature of the dinner differs from previous exchanges between the two men.
Trump called Trudeau “a far-left lunatic” for requiring truck drivers crossing the border to be vaccinated against COVID in 2022. In June 2018, Trump walked out of the G7 summit in Quebec and accused Trudeau of being “very dishonest and weak”.
At the end of the dinner, LeBlanc said, Trump walked Trudeau to his car and said, “Stay in touch. Call me any time. Talk soon.”
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