The takeaway from Trudeau's Mar-a-Lago trip: For Trump, fentanyl is priority No. 1

Donald Trump left his Canadian guests at Mar-a-Lago with the clear impression that fentanyl is for now his top priority in Canada-U.S. relations, according to Canadian officials familiar with the details of Friday's surprise dinner with the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The new US president gave the impression that he wanted to declare that he had already saved American lives even before taking office on January 20, 2025, said two sources whom CBC News agreed not to identify.

The intensity of the focus on fentanyl surprised some Canadians at the dinner, the sources said, because the Canadian side had previously assumed Trump was more focused on human migration than opioids at the border.

What remains unclear, sources say, is what Trump specifically wants from Canada in exchange for removing his threat of a debilitating 25 percent tariff on all Canadian goods entering the states. -United.

When Trump made his threat Monday, he said in a social media post that the tariffs would remain in effect until his country stops being flooded with undocumented migrants and drugs, including fentanyl.

Does Trump want more border patrols, more police crackdowns on drug labs, or tougher laws to combat money laundering and organized crime? It's not yet clear, both sources said. Trump gave no such details at the dinner.

Trudeau traveled to Florida with Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and his chief of staff, Katie Telford.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had dinner Friday evening with United States President-elect Donald Trump. Trump called the meeting “very productive” on his social media platform Truth Social. (@JustinTrudeau/X)

LeBlanc said the Canadians told Trump's team they would consider getting “for example, additional drones.” [and] additional police helicopters. We will redeploy staff.”

“We talked about the challenge that fentanyl poses in Canada, and those are common goals,” LeBlanc said on Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday.

Sources said the dinner was primarily a social event. The plans came to fruition without the knowledge of almost everyone in the federal government during a series of interactions between Trudeau and Trump.

The few people who knew about it were instructed to keep quiet until Trudeau was already in Florida.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, presented in Ottawa on October 15, along with Trudeau's chief of staff, Katie Telford, accompanied the Prime Minister to Friday's dinner in Florida. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Trudeau's plan, according to sources, was to set a positive tone with a good meeting, share personal interactions, get to know members of Trump's team and not spoil the dinner meeting with pressure. on customs tariffs.

A source said the event ended with Trump personally escorting Trudeau out of his Mar-a-Lago estate after an enjoyable evening.

Asked if Trump liked the prime minister, LeBlanc replied: “Very good.”

“I saw a lot of mutual respect and warmth between the two leaders,” he said. “I thought it was very positive.”

“A position of weakness,” says Poilievre

At a news conference Sunday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said that “even though I criticize Mr. Trudeau, I felt bad that he showed up in such a weak position.”

“Normally when a prime minister goes to the United States to meet with a president, he's looking to make progress,” Poilievre said. “What gains have we heard from Mr. Trudeau? None. He is just trying to limit the losses.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to reporters during a news conference in a hotel ballroom in Ottawa on Sunday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

The Conservative leader also said Canada needs “a strong prime minister with the intelligence and courage to put Canada first and fight for our workers and our security.”

When asked by reporters if he or anyone from his party had been in contact with Trump's transition team since the November 5 US election, Poilievre replied that he was “not the prime minister” .

Trump values ​​relationships, says former adviser

Everett Eissenstat was deputy director of Trump's National Economic Council during his first term. In an interview on Rosemary Barton Live, he said one thing that's unique about Trump is “how much he values ​​personal relationships.”

“I think Prime Minister Trudeau's willingness to go to Mar-a-Lago and meet with him personally is a very important decision and one that I think was appreciated,” he said.

WATCH | How Trump is using tariffs to get what he wants for the United States:

Trump sees tariffs as way to push Canada in different direction, former adviser says

Chief Political Correspondent Rosemary Barton speaks with Everett Eissenstat, former economic adviser to the Trump administration, about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's meeting with the US president-elect, Trump's strategy on tariffs and how Canada should respond.

According to Eissenstat, Trump has “discovered that tariffs can be a very important motivator in getting economies to move in a direction he sees as beneficial to the United States.”

When Trump made his threat Monday, he said in a social media post that “this tariff will remain in effect until drugs, especially Fentanyl, and all illegal aliens end this invasion of our country ! »

When asked what he thought Trump was trying to get out of his tariff threat, Eissenstat said the president-elect was “trying to solve some of the long-standing problems that we've seen globally.”

“I think it's part of a larger project in which he's trying to empower the United States to reorient its actions. [and] pursue some things that he considers very important,” he said.

The lesson for the Canadian government, Eissenstat said, is that “personal relationships matter. And being dismissive or condescending about these concerns won't work.

“It was certainly a very interesting weekend,” he said. “And I think this is a relationship that I will be watching very, very closely.”

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