US President Donald Trump and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau on Wednesday spoke for about 50 minutes over telephone, discussing fentanyl and trade, as Reuters reported.
Trump later shared details of the call on Truth Social, accusing Canadian PM Trudeau of using trade tensions to maintain political power. “He (Trudeau) was unable to tell me when the Canadian election is taking place, which made me curious, like, what’s going on here? I then realised he is trying to use this issue to stay in power,” US President wrote.
During the call, Trump raised concerns about fentanyl smuggling, stating it had entered the United States from Canada and Mexico.
He expressed skepticism that the problem had been addressed. “I told him that many people have died from fentanyl that came through borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped,” Trump said, adding that the conversation ended in a “somewhat” friendly manner.
Trump also blamed Trudeau’s border policies for complicating the issue. “For anyone who is interested, I also told Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada that he largely caused the problems we have with them because of his Weak Border Policies, which allowed tremendous amounts of Fentanyl, and Illegal Aliens, to pour into the United States. These Policies are responsible for the death of many people!” he said.
The call came amid rising trade tensions. Trump’s 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico took effect Tuesday, with China and Canada retaliating against American goods, CNN reported.
However, on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump had granted a one-month exemption on auto tariffs for Mexico and Canada.
