Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told President-elect Donald Trump his proposed tariffs would “kill the Canadian economy” when they met for dinner last week. Trump allegedly responded, “If Canada can’t survive the tariffs, then maybe Canada should become the 51st state and Trudeau can become its governor.”
Sources at the dinner confirmed the exchange with Fox News when the two met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Trudeau became the first G7 leader to meet with Trump since the U.S. presidential election in November.
The leaders discussed several issues, including trade and immigration. Tensions escalated when Trump threatened a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico unless both countries took stronger action to curb migration and drug trafficking into the U.S.
The U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner, with American imports accounting for about 75% of Canada’s exports. The two countries currently trade under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a deal signed by Trump in 2020.
Both leaders described the talks as productive. Trudeau posted a picture from the dinner on X, thanking Trump in the caption. He said, “I look forward to the work we can do together, again.”
Before his dinner with Trudeau, Trump also spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum last week. During that conversation, Trump reiterated his threat of high tariffs unless Mexico took more decisive action at its border with the U.S.