OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) — Justin Trudeau is not going to Washington this week to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The Canadian prime minister was to travel south to meet with leaders of the U.S and Mexico to celebrate the new NAFTA deal between three nations.
While he has not explicitly given a reason for his absence, Trudeau’s missed attendance at the meeting comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic and as the number of cases in the U.S. continues to rise.
Trump is hosting the meeting on Wednesday to highlight the benefits of the new deal — the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
Lopez Obrador has agreed to attend the meeting, but Trudeau said in a statement he will not be there. Lopez Obrador had expressed hope Trudeau would join, as well.
Statement from the PMO confirms Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau will not attend NAFTA meeting in Washington this week #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/FOQALX5mIv
— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) July 6, 2020
Instead, Trudeau will stay in Ottawa for a virtual cabinet retreat and attend the sitting of parliament for the release of the federal economic snapshot, which is happening the same day as the trade gathering.
If Trudeau went, he’d have to quarantine for 14 days upon his return.
In his statement, he wished the U.S. and Mexico well and says the new deal, which came into effect on July 1, will help all three countries emerge from the pandemic stronger.
Last week, when asked about the meeting, Trudeau expressed concerns about Trump’s threat to place new 10-per-cent tariffs on Canadian aluminum. He also pointed out the meeting would be taking place at a time when COVID-19 cases are spiking south of the border.
As of Sunday, the U.S. has seen more than 2.8 million cases of COVID-19 and 129,000 deaths.