Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he will not lecture President Donald Trump on Syrian refugees.
“The last thing Canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture another country on how they choose to govern,” he said at the White House.
Both leaders stressed the countries’ shared economic goals and co-operation at a joint news conference.
But their responses to questions about Syrian refugees underscored their contrasting policies on immigration.
Mr Trump defended his controversial travel ban, saying he wanted “to have a big beautiful, open door”, but that “we cannot let the wrong people in”.
The US president has stirred controversy for issuing an executive order temporarily banning entry of all refugees and visitors from seven mainly Muslim countries.
A federal judge has issued a temporary nationwide block on the travel ban, but the issue of refugees appeared to overshadow the joint news conference.
Mr Trudeau said the US and Canada had always been strong allies, fighting alongside one another on various battlefields.
“But there are times when we have differed in our approaches. And that’s always been done firmly and respectfully,” he said.
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