A Mississauga city councillor says he and other Canadian municipal leaders were abruptly told they weren’t welcome at the White House during a meeting with their U.S. counterparts last week in Washington, D.C.

Coun. Alvin Tedjo, designated by Mississauga’s mayor to represent the city at a gathering of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, said the Canadian contingent was told at the “last minute” it could not attend a planned White House session on March 5.

Tedjo said following a “Great Lakes Day” meeting of members of the initiative, a group of municipal and Indigenous government leaders representing the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region on both sides of the border, a followup session was scheduled at the White House.

However, only the 11 American members of the Great Lakes contingent continued into the official residence and workplace of the U.S. President while the 11 Canadians were not included, the Mississauga councillor said.

“… last minute, they decided not to let the Canadians go (to The White House) — again,” Tedjo told city council on Wednesday, referencing the similar treatment given Canadian delegates at last year’s gathering. “They said ‘just Americans, please’.”

Mississauga Ward 2 Coun. Alvin Tedjo said dealing with some U.S. politicians last week in Washington, D.C. was like walking on “eggshells” at times.

Tedjo noted it was only this year and last year the Americans were opposed to having the Canadian members enter the White House — undoubtedly a direct result of soured relations between the former close North American allies since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in early 2025.

In addition to U.S.-imposed tariffs on Canada that took effect around this time last year, prompting a trade war between the two countries, Trump has also occasionally spoken about annexing the nation to his north and making it the 51st American state.

And in January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a highly lauded speech in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum that wasn’t nearly as well-received by the U.S. President.

Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish asked Tedjo this week at council if he would have continued on to the White House session on March 5 if the Canadians were invited.

He responded in the affirmative, adding “because I think it’s putting a face to a situation.”

Tedjo also provided his council colleagues with his impressions of the current dynamic that exists between Canadian and American politicians — at all levels of government.

He said the Canadian contingent on his recent trip was “very diplomatic talking to any Republican members of (the U.S.) Congress versus the Democratic (members); (the Republicans) needed to hear different things.”

Of dealing with some Trump-supporting politicians south of the border last week, particularly given their positions on tariffs and drugs supposedly entering the U.S. via the Canadian border (as Trump has posited without evidence), Tedjo added “sometimes it was walking on eggshells.”


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