Freeland says it was 'right choice' for her not to attend Mar-a-Lago dinner with Trump

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says it was "the right choice" for her not to attend the surprise dinner with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Friday night.

Freeland, who is the chair of the revived cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations and led Canada's NAFTA negotiations during Trump's first term in office, made the comment when asked about her absence by reporters on Tuesday.

"That's a question first and foremost for the prime minister, but look, I think it was the right choice," Freeland said.

On Friday, Trudeau – along with Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief of staff Katie Telford, met with Trump and members of his incoming administration in response to Trump’s threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports unless Canada halts the flow of illegal drugs and migrants over the shared border.

Speaking on Tuesday, Freeland reiterated that the meeting was "principally about the border."

"What was very clear from the conversation that the prime minister had with the president ahead of time, from the president's tweet, and Minister LeBlanc is the minister responsible for the border," Freeland said.

Senior government sources tell CTV News that representatives of the federal government were told that U.S. tariffs cannot be avoided in the immediacy -- as Trump voraciously believes in the effectiveness of tariffs -- but solutions in the longer term are on the table, particularly if the border is secured.

In an interview with CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Monday, LeBlanc called the dinner with Trump "cordial" and gave the Liberals a "much better idea of the American concerns.”

Back in 2018, Trump denounced Canada's free trade negotiation tactics and slighted Freeland, who was foreign affairs minister and Canada’s lead negotiator at the time, saying "we don't like their representative very much."

When asked in November by reporters why she is the right choice to lead bilateral relations again, Freeland would not answer directly.

"President Trump will obviously speak for himself and I would never put words in his mouth," Freeland said in November. "But in my experience, President Trump respects strength. He respects people and countries who are strong and clear in defending their countries, in defending their national interest. That's what I've always done and that's what I will continue to do."

With files from CTV News' Spencer Van Dyk