By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised President-elect Donald Trump that Canada would toughen controls over the lengthy undefended joint border, a senior Canadian official mentioned on Sunday.

Trudeau flew to Florida on Friday to have dinner with Trump, who has promised to slap tariffs on Canadian imports except Ottawa prevents migrants and medicines from crossing the frontier.

Canada sends 75% of all items and companies exports to america and tariffs would badly damage the economic system.

Public Security Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who sat on the head desk with Trudeau and Trump, mentioned the 2 males mentioned extra safety measures Canada can be introducing.

“We’re going to look to procure, for example, additional drones, additional police helicopters, we’re going to redeploy personnel … we believe that the border is secure,” he instructed the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

“It’s important, I think, to show Canadians and the Americans that we’re stepping up in a visible and muscular way, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” he added, promising extra particulars within the days and weeks to come back.

Canada, he mentioned, would proceed to make the case that tariffs would injury each nations, given how interconnected the 2 economies are.

“I’m confident that the Americans will understand that it’s not in their interest … to proceed in this way,” he mentioned, describing the dinner assembly as very heat and cordial.

Trump mentioned on Saturday he mentioned the border, commerce and vitality in a “very productive” assembly with Trudeau.

The pleasant nature of the dinner contrasts with earlier exchanges between the 2 males.

Trump known as Trudeau “a far left lunatic” in 2022 for requiring truck drivers crossing the border to be vaccinated towards COVID. In June 2018, Trump walked out of a G7 summit in Quebec and blasted Trudeau for being “very dishonest and weak.”

On the finish of the dinner, LeBlanc mentioned, Trump walked Trudeau to his automotive and mentioned “Keep in touch. Call me anytime. Talk soon.”