Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says it was “the precise selection” for her to not attend the shock dinner with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Friday evening.
Freeland, who’s the chair the revived cupboard committee on Canada-U.S. relations and led Canada’s NAFTA negotiations throughout Trump’s first time period in workplace, made the remark when requested about her absence by reporters on Tuesday.
“That is a query at the start for the prime minister, however look, I feel it was the precise selection,” Freeland mentioned.
On Friday, Trudeau – together with Public Security Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief of employees Katie Telford, met with Trump and members of his incoming administration in response to Trump’s risk to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports until Canada halts the circulate of unlawful medication and migrants over the shared border.
Talking on Tuesday, Freeland reiterated that the assembly was “principally concerning the border.”
“What was very clear from the dialog that the prime minister had with the president forward of time, from the president’s tweet, and Minister LeBlanc is the minister chargeable for the border,” Freeland mentioned.
Senior authorities sources inform Ontario Chronicle that representatives of the federal authorities have been informed that U.S. tariffs can’t be averted within the immediacy — as Trump voraciously believes within the effectiveness of tariffs — however options in the long term are on the desk, significantly if the border is secured.
In an interview with CTV Energy Play with Vassy Kapelos on Monday, LeBlanc known as the dinner with Trump “cordial” and gave the Liberals a “significantly better concept of the American issues.”
Again in 2018, Trump denounced Canada’s free commerce negotiation ways and slighted Freeland, who was overseas affairs minister and Canada’s lead negotiator on the time, saying “we don’t like their representative very much.”
When requested in November by reporters why she is the precise selection to steer bilateral relations once more, Freeland wouldn’t reply immediately.
“President Trump will obviously speak for himself and I would never put words in his mouth,” Freeland mentioned in November. “But in my experience, President Trump respects strength. He respects people and countries who are strong and clear in defending their countries, in defending their national interest. That’s what I’ve always done and that’s what I will continue to do.”
With information from Ontario Chronicle’ Spencer Van Dyk
