In their first face-to-face meeting, President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed free trade and immigration Monday afternoon at The White House.
At a joint press conference after a series of meetings, the two emphasized their shared goals. Trump pledged to work with Canada "in pursuit of our many shared interests." Trudeau spoke of a special bond and the "deep abiding respect" between the two countries, though he also said that "relationships between neighbors are pretty complex."
While the two leaders stressed shared interests, their contrasting views were also on display. Responding to questions from reporters, Trump defended his refugee and immigration orders, saying that "we cannot let the wrong people in." Trudeau, on the other hand, said Canada continues to "pursue our policies of openness."
Trudeau later noted that there have been times when the two countries "have differed in our approaches." But he said "the last thing Canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture another country on how they chose to govern themselves."
Trudeau, age 45, and Trump, age 70, have vastly different outlooks of the world.
Trudeau is a liberal who champions free trade and has welcomed 40,000 Syrian refugees. He calls himself a feminist and his Cabinet is 50 percent women. Trump has few women in his Cabinet. He has taken a protectionist stance on trade and wants to crack down on the inflow of migrants and refugees.
Relations with the U.S. are crucial as more than 75 percent of Canada's exports go to the U.S., while 18 percent of U.S. exports go to Canada. There are fears among Canadians that they could be hurt as Trump targets Mexico in a re-negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Along with the joint press conference, Trudeau and Trump also participated in a roundtable discussion about women in the workplace.
Watch the joint press conference below, starting at 1 p.m.
You can also listen live to the meeting on KERA 90.1.
