U.S. President Donald Trump boasted in a fundraising speech in Missouri on Wednesday that he made up facts about trade in a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to a recording of the comments obtained by The Washington Post.

The newspaper said in a report posted on its website that Trump had insisted to Trudeau that the United States runs a trade deficit with its neighbour to the north without knowing whether or not that was the case.

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Trump said on the recording that after Trudeau told him the U.S. does not have a trade deficit with Canada, he replied, 鈥淲rong, Justin, you do,鈥� then added, 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know 鈥� I had no idea.鈥�

The president said he then 鈥渟ent one of our guys out鈥� to check the prime minister鈥檚 claim.

鈥淲ell, sir, you鈥檙e actually right,鈥� Trump says in the recording. 鈥淲e have no deficit but that doesn鈥檛 include energy and timber 鈥� and when you do, we lose $17 billion a year. It鈥檚 incredible.鈥�

Trump regularly bemoans a trade deficit with Canada and complained about it in late February by saying: 鈥淲e lose a lot with Canada. People don鈥檛 know it. Canada鈥檚 very smooth. They have you believe that it鈥檚 wonderful. And it is, for them. Not wonderful for us.鈥�

But a different story is told in the recently released 2018 White House 鈥淓conomic Report of the President鈥� 鈥� an annual document prepared by Trump鈥檚 own team which bears his signature and contradicts a number of trade statements and policies already articulated by him.

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One example involves the supposed trade deficit with Canada. Trump keeps insisting it exists, but the document he signed states Canada is among the few countries in the world with whom the U.S. runs a surplus.

The document states: 鈥淭he United States ran a trade surplus of $2.6 billion with Canada on a balance-of-payments basis.鈥�

Bruce Heyman, the U.S. ambassador to Canada until January, blasted Trump in a series of tweets early Thursday while also apologizing to Canada for Trump鈥檚 reported comments.

鈥淟ying to your friends only hurts the relationship,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淐anada has been there for us thru thick and thin. How can you casually damage this relationship? Shame on you!鈥�

Heyman added that the president is 鈥渃asually throwing Canada under the bus and this is just wrong.鈥�

The Canadian Press

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