United States President-elect and Canadian Prime Minister have dinner in Palm Beach, Florida

Thursday, December 5, 2024 

On November 29, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Palm Beach, Florida to attend a private dinner at Mar-a-Lago with United States President-elect Donald Trump, regarding Trump's threats to impose significant tariffs on Canadian goods.

The meeting followed a phone call between Trump and Trudeau, which occurred on November 2, regarding Trump's plan to impose a 25% tariff on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada, which is a plan that Trudeau had previously criticized, saying that it would cause harm to "Canadians who work so well with the United States" while "raising prices for American citizens as well, and hurting American industry and businesses." Trump stated that this tariff "will remain in effect until such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!"

Trudeau arrived at Palm Beach International Airport ahead of the meeting. Other attendees included North Dakota Governor and nominee for Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, businessman and nominee for Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and Pennsylvania Senator-elect David McCormick.

The afternoon after the meeting, Trudeau stated that he and Trump had had an "excellent conversation." He later posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a photograph of himself and Trump at a dining table, expressing hope for "the work we can do together, again."

Trump posted on Truth Social, describing the meeting as "very productive," and that he and Trudeau had discussed "many important topics that will require both countries to work together to address," including 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."

• Rob Gillies and Fatima Hussein. "Canada’s Trudeau returns home after Trump meeting without assurances that tariffs are off the table" — Associated Press, November 30, 2024
• Josh Meyer. "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits Trump for tariff talk" — USA Today, November 29, 2024