Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a statement early Wednesday morning congratulating Donald Trump on winning back the U.S. presidency.
“Canada and the U.S. have the world’s most successful partnership. We are neighbours and friends, united by a shared history, common values and steadfast ties between our peoples. We are also each other’s largest trade partners and our economies are deeply intertwined,” Trudeau said.
“We look forward to working with president-elect Trump and his administration, including on issues such as trade, investment, and continental peace and security,” he said.
Trump’s victory could pose some challenges for Canada as the incoming president has promised to slap tariffs on all imports, which experts have said would shave billions of dollars off Canada’s GDP.
Skipped election night results? CBC’s Ashley Fraser explains what you missed.
Trump and Trudeau have had a fractious relationship.
While Trudeau and his government successfully renegotiated NAFTA and saved Canada’s most important trade agreement from ruin, it was a battle to get signatures on the dotted line.
Trump called Trudeau “two-faced” after the prime minister was heard on a hot mic mocking Trump’s long-winded news conference following a NATO meeting.
After Trudeau said Canada would not be pushed around by Trump and would vigorously defend the country’s interests in the face of U.S. tariffs, Trump blasted the prime minister on social media, calling him “very dishonest & weak,” and torpedoed the leaders’ communique after the G7 meeting in Charlevoix, Que.
John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, relayed in his book how Trump didn’t like Trudeau and told his aides to attack the prime minister on the U.S. Sunday morning political shows.
Later, after losing the presidency, Trump aligned himself with the anti-mandate protesters who staged the trucker convoy that shut down much of downtown Ottawa.
“The Freedom Convoy is peacefully protesting the harsh policies of far left lunatic Justin Trudeau who has destroyed Canada with insane Covid mandates,” Trump said in a statement.
Trudeau, while more diplomatic in his criticisms of Trump, has indicated he’s no fan of the former president.
Speaking to reporters in January, Trudeau said Trump “represents a certain amount of unpredictability.”