Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed during a visit to the White House that his country would continue to welcome refugees, even as President Donald Trump defended his efforts to bar refugees from US soil as "common sense."
"Canada has always understood that keeping Canadians safe is one of the fundamental responsibilities of any government," Mr Trudeau told a joint news conference with the US president.
"At the same time, we continue to pursue our policies of openness towards refugees without compromising security."
Mr Trump, meanwhile, defended his controversial move to close US borders to refugees and citizens of seven mostly-Muslim nations, saying "we cannot let the wrong people in".
"It is a stance of common sense. And we are going to pursue it vigorously," Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump called for "reciprocal" trade with Canada and to build bridges of commerce across the border, appearing to tone down previously harsh rhetoric on trade.
"America is deeply fortunate to have a neighbor like Canada," he said, hailing the opportunity to "build even more bridges" of commerce.
"We understand that both of our countries are stronger when we join forces in matters of international commerce," Mr Trump said.
For his part, Mr Trudeau said the two nations - who with Mexico make up the North American Free Trade Agreement - "will always remain each other's most essential partner."
"Today's conversations have served to reinforce how important that is for both Canadians and Americans," said Mr Trudeau.
Throughout his campaign and since his November election, the new Republican president has voiced his determination to put "America first" and rip up NAFTA, which he has said is a "catastrophe" for American jobs.
The economic ties between America and its northern neighbour, who share the world's longest common border, run deep: three-quarters of Canada's exports go to the US, and Canada is the top destination for exports from about 30 US states.
Renegotiating NAFTA will not be simple and Mr Trudeau, a fervent supporter of free trade, has emphasised the importance of the tripartite pact for his country's economy and warned against protectionism.
Mr Trump has not been specific on how he wants the negotiations to develop.
"When we sit down as we did today and as our teams will be doing in the weeks and months to come, we will be talking about how we can continue to create good jobs for our citizens on both sides of the border," Mr Trudeau said.
Mr Trump added: "We have a very outstanding trade relationship with Canada. We will be tweaking it. We will be doing certain things that are going to benefit both of our countries."
Trump 'evaluating' national security advisor's actions: spokesman
The White House cast doubt on National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's political future, with a spokesman saying the president was "evaluating" his behavior after contacts with the Russian government.
"The president is evaluating the situation," said spokesman Sean Spicer, indicating that Mr Trump was "speaking to Vice President (Mike) Pence and "various other people about what he considers the single most important subject there is - our national security."
Mr Pence, after speaking to Mr Flynn, had publicly claimed that the national security advisor did not discuss sanctions policy with the Russian ambassador - a claim that proved to be untrue.
