On December 27, 2024, rumours began circulating that Global Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and the new Minister of Finance LeBlanc had snuck off for a little trip to the states.

The strange thing about this trip is that Trump is not yet the president. For this reason, the meeting appears to be with people who could be important when he becomes president but at the moment do not have an official role.

Meeting with people who could be important in a few days. Meeting with people who may work for someone who is not yet president. This feels a little. What is the word that I’m looking for?

It feels like a concession.

It feels like an undignified grab at Trump’s attention when Trump himself is mocking you and will not show you the courtesy of meeting with you.

It also looks a little like a second try at the previous meeting at Mar-A-Lago.

What definitely makes this feel like a concession is the fact that it did not work.

The meeting happened on December 27, 2024. It is now January 2, 2025, approximately 7 days later.

In 7 days, we have heard nothing about what the meeting accomplished.

We haven’t heard that the tariffs will be dropped. We also haven’t heard any additional “what Canada needs to do” style marching orders.

By all appearances, the trip didn’t accomplish much.

It is possible something was accomplished and we’ll find out about it later.

However, the plan was that the tariffs would be implemented on January 20, 2025.

If that is no longer the case, Canadians should be told.

At the very least, the Canadian business owners who would be affected by it should be told.

This not only looks like a concession, but a very unsuccessful business trip.

Find out here how to take action if the tariffs are implemented on January 20th, 2025.