Gov. Josh Shapiro and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met in Philly to talk trade, protecting democracy, and those wildfires

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for Philadelphians: He’s sorry for all that wildfire smoke.

During a record heat spell last summer, smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted across the border and settled in a hazy smog across the city and large parts of the Eastern Seaboard.

“We already started another wildfire season in Canada, so I apologize in advance,” Trudeau joked to a room full of Philadelphia business leaders, Harrisburg officials, and Canadian diplomats in Center City on Tuesday, minutes after a formal meeting with Gov. Josh Shapiro.

The prime minister was in Philadelphia to deliver pro-labor remarks at the Service Employees International Union’s convention earlier in the day.

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But before leaving town, Trudeau met with Shapiro to tout the strong economic ties between Pennsylvania and Canada, solidifying the ongoing partnership in which the nation’s northern neighbor is the commonwealth’s top export destination.

“We are doing business with Canada, and Canada knows just how critical Pennsylvania is,” Shapiro, with Trudeau at his side, told a crowded suite on the upper floors of the Kimpton Hotel Palomar in Rittenhouse. “Canada is our No. 1 trading partner.”

Trudeau’s stop in Pennsylvania is one in a handful of meetings between the prime minister and local U.S. leaders in recent years. After managing an often fraught relationship with former President Donald Trump, the G7 leader instead sought to build relationships with like-minded governors and business leaders.

The potential for a second Trump term loomed large during Trudeau’s remarks to SEIU members; Trump has promised to impose a sweeping 10% trade tariff on imports should he win the presidency, a prospect the Canadian prime minister has said “won’t be easy.”

Pennsylvania and Canada’s ties are particularly strong.

Besides sharing a border at Lake Erie, Canada is by far Pennsylvania’s largest export partner, with the state exporting $14.3 billion in goods to the country in 2023 — nearly a third of its exports overall.

The partnership is mutual. Canada sends about $14 billion worth of goods to the state annually and provides more than 25,000 jobs to Pennsylvanians through Canadian companies, according to the prime minister’s office.

From plastics and construction machinery to steel and agricultural products, Canadian consumers regularly benefit from Pennsylvania goods, a relationship between governments that Trudeau said had “so much alignment” on shared economic goals and upholding the values of freedom and civil rights.

“We’re at a time right now where democracy itself is under significant challenges,” Trudeau said. “We can’t be here, in the birthplace of American democracy, without reflecting a little bit on the fact that democracy didn’t happen by accident.”

To bolster both the U.S. and Canadian economies, Trudeau stressed the shared importance of investing in clean energy, artificial intelligence, and high-tech manufacturing. Transitioning from a fossil fuel economy was “not a liberal plot,” he said, and would bring about jobs and economic growth.

Upon Trudeau’s arrival, the prime minister and Shapiro briefly posed for photos and traded greetings — the former repeating his message in French, his country’s second most-spoken tongue. Both leaders then closed doors for a private discussion.

The meeting between Shapiro and Trudeau, a key U.S. ally, was evidence of the Pennsylvania Democrat’s rising national profile.

Between the governor’s broad support among Pennsylvania voters and fixture status within his national party, some continue to consider Shapiro to be in the running for the 2028 presidential election.

But talks Tuesday remained largely on trade.

When Trudeau mentioned that Pennsylvania exports to Canada more than it does with its next four countries combined, the room — where such local leaders as State Sen. Sharif Street were in attendance — broke into applause.

“Why not five or six countries?” Trudeau said to a large laugh. “Let’s do even more.”