Trudeau promised Trump tougher border controls

2/12/2024 6:07

        Canadian Prime Minister Justin
        Trudeau promised President-elect Donald Trump that Canada would
        toughen controls over the long undefended joint border, a senior
        Canadian official said on Sunday.
        Trudeau flew to Florida on Friday to have dinner with Trump, who
        has promised to slap tariffs on Canadian imports unless Ottawa
        prevents migrants and drugs from crossing the frontier.
        
        Canada sends 75% of all goods and services exports to the
        United States and tariffs would badly hurt the economy.
        
        Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who sat at the head
        table with Trudeau and Trump, said the two men discussed
        additional security measures Canada would be introducing.
        
        "We're going to look to procure, for example, additional
        drones, additional police helicopters, we're going to redeploy
        personnel ... we believe that the border is secure," he told the
        Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
        
        "It's important, I think, to show Canadians and the
        Americans that we're stepping up in a visible and muscular way,
        and that's exactly what we're going to do," he added, promising
        more details in the days and weeks to come.
        
        Canada, he said, would continue to make the case that
        tariffs would damage both nations, given how interconnected the
        two economies are.
        
        "I'm confident that the Americans will understand that it's
        not in their interest ... to proceed in this way," he said,
        describing the dinner meeting as very warm and cordial.
        
        Trump said on Saturday he discussed the border, trade and
        energy in a "very productive" meeting with Trudeau.
        
        The friendly nature of the dinner contrasts with previous
        exchanges between the two men.
        
        Trump called Trudeau "a far left lunatic" in 2022 for
        requiring truck drivers crossing the border to be vaccinated
        against COVID. In June 2018, Trump walked out of a G7 summit in
        Quebec and blasted Trudeau for being "very dishonest and weak."
        
        At the end of the dinner, LeBlanc said, Trump walked Trudeau
        to his car and said "Keep in touch. Call me anytime. Talk
        soon."