Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves the Delta Hotels by Marriott West Palm Beach, in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 30.Brandon Bell/Getty Images
One of the most important dinner dates Justin Trudeau has ever secured – an opportunity to dissuade Donald Trump from imposing steep tariffs on Canada – came together only days before the Prime Minister’s SUV finally pulled up at Mar-a-Lago Friday night.
The Prime Minister originally suggested the two men meet in person as he was congratulating the U.S. president-elect on the night after his victory. He spoke to Mr. Trump around 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 6 from his office in Parliament Hill’s West Block. His chief of staff, Katie Telford, deputy chief of staff Brian Clow and Privy Council clerk John Hannaford were there with him, listening to the call.
Mr. Trump was positive but non-committal to Mr. Trudeau’s suggestion of a get-together, said a source familiar with what transpired that night. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source who was not authorized to speak publicly about the events.
After the call, the Trudeau government kept trying to book a meeting through different channels, including Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly’s contact with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham.
The breakthrough came the same night as Mr. Trump’s tariff threat, when he posted Nov. 25 on Truth Social that soon after taking office he would impose 25-per-cent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican goods until both countries took steps to stop illegal migration and the smuggling of fentanyl into the United States.
Within two hours of that post, Mr. Trudeau called Mr. Trump to press Canada’s case. He was at Rideau Cottage, his official residence. The main goal of this conversation, the source said, was to secure a get-together.
Mr. Trudeau suggested he and Mr. Trump meet and talk through the tariffs, the source said.
Mr. Trump paused, and then invited the Prime Minister to Mar-a-Lago for dinner Friday.
It would be two more days – on Wednesday, Nov. 27 – before the invitation was confirmed. That was the same day Mr. Trudeau held a virtual meeting with Canada’s premiers about the tariff threat.
Mr. Trump’s team asked for the Canadians to keep the trip quiet and so news of Mr. Trudeau’s late-afternoon flight to Palm Beach, Fla., Friday only broke after flight trackers spotted CanForce One (a government Challenger jet broadcasting call sign CFC01) en route to Florida. It landed about 5:30 p.m. ET at Palm Beach International Airport.
Earlier that afternoon, Mr. Trudeau had returned to Ottawa from a trip to Prince Edward Island and the jet picked up Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Ms. Telford before proceeding to Florida. During the flight, the source said, Mr. Trudeau talked through with Mr. LeBlanc and Ms. Telford how he would approach Mr. Trump. Arriving at the Delta by Marriott West Palm Beach hotel, Mr. Trudeau was also joined by Canada’s ambassador to the United States, Kirsten Hillman, and Mr. Clow, and he did another hour of preparation there.
The Prime Minister’s motorcade pulled up to Mar-a-Lago around 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday. The Canadian delegation was ushered into a room called the “Library Bar,” which is adjacent to the outdoor dining terrace or patio, where they would spend the rest of the evening. The Library Bar features a painting of a younger Mr. Trump in a white V-neck sweater and white pants.
It was a busy Friday night at Mar-a-Lago and the late-autumn weather was a pleasant 23 degrees Celsius. Those present included club members, members of Mr. Trump’s team and special guests. In the Library Bar, Mr. Trudeau met Jeanine Pirro, the former judge who co-hosts a TV show on Fox News, and Pam Bondi, the Florida attorney and politician who is Mr. Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney-General.
They mingled in the Library Bar for 10 minutes before Mr. Trump arrived to greet them. After some photos, the president-elect escorted Mr. Trudeau and his entourage to the outdoor dining patio.
When Mr. Trump entered the patio, the room erupted in applause for the president-elect, said the source, who recounted what transpired at the dinner.
Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Trump sat beside each other and Mr. LeBlanc and Ms. Telford joined the table.
Also present were three of Mr. Trump’s cabinet picks: Howard Lutnick, Mike Waltz and Doug Burgum, nominees for commerce secretary, national-security adviser and interior secretary, respectively, along with their wives. Pennsylvania senator-elect Dave McCormick and his wife, former White House adviser Dina Powell, were also in attendance.
Ms. Pirro and Ms. Bondi sat together at another table.
Mr. Trudeau became the first Group of Seven leader to meet with Mr. Trump since his re-election, and before the president-elect ascends to arguably the most powerful office in the world.
Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s private club, was described as a “winter White House” during his last presidency. It appears to be quickly becoming a seat of power again in the United States. Spread over nearly 20 acres, with more than 125 rooms and a massive ballroom, the mansion is palatial. Mr. Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe there during his first term and prior to Mr. Trudeau’s visit, he received Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for dinner.
Roland Paris, a former foreign policy adviser to Mr. Trudeau and director of the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, reaches back to imperial Rome for a comparison. “Mar-a-Lago is the Palatine Hill of the 21st century: You know, the residences of Roman emperors with the same lavishness too.”
Instead of a set dinner, guests that evening ordered off the Mar-a-Lago club menu. Both Mr. Trudeau and Mr. LeBlanc ordered steak and mashed potatoes.
As The Globe and Mail reported Saturday, Mr. Trump was in high spirits during the dinner. At times he acted as DJ, playing music from his iPad through patio speakers including two versions of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, a song from the musical Cats, as well as work by Luciano Pavarotti.
On at least one occasion, Mr. Trump paused the conversation to point out a high note that Mr. Pavarotti was about to hit.
Canada has so far not obtained assurances that Mr. Trump will back away from the tariffs, but Mr. Trudeau and Mr. LeBlanc told Mr. Trump that Ottawa would be buying more drones and helicopters at the border, as well as deploying extra staff. They also noted that illegal migration and smuggled drugs from Canada pale in comparison with Mexico. Mr. Lutnick texted Mr. LeBlanc to say he wanted to continue their conversation in the weeks ahead. The meeting, as Mr. LeBlanc said Sunday, was about building rapport to follow up later.
Midway through the dinner, the U.S. anthem was played on patio speakers. The entire patio stood up to sing The Star-Spangled Banner, led by Mr. Trump.
Another source who attended the dinner recounted the mood at Mar-a-Lago as joyous. Part of it was likely the lasting postelection high. Everybody was dressed up and beginning their American Thanksgiving weekend. The sun had set outside the patio and a pleasant breeze was blowing onto the terrace. In nearby private rooms there were other separate celebrations taking place: birthday parties or other family events.
The Globe is not naming the source who was also not authorized to publicly discuss what took place that night.
In another room, adjacent to the patio, called the “Living Room,” sat a model plane that bears the red, white and blue livery design that Mr. Trump plans for Air Force One when he takes office.
At the end of the dinner, Mr. Trump stood up to escort Mr. Trudeau out and attendees from other tables flocked to talk to the president-elect. At about 10:45 p.m. Mr. Trump walked the Canadian entourage out to their SUVs, shook hands with the Prime Minister and said farewell.
Mr. Trudeau and his team went back to the hotel to debrief.
The Canadian government is now receiving calls and inquiries from other countries for insight on Mr. Trump and a recount of how it unfolded, the two sources said.