Ivanka Trump enjoys dinner with Justin Trudeau and his wife at Washington gala  

Justin Trudeau and Ivanka Trump Donald Trump
Justin Trudeau and Ivanka Trump Credit: The Canadian Press via AP

Ivanka Trump joined Justin Trudeau and his wife at a gala dinner celebrating the most powerful and influential women in business.

The Canadian prime minister was a keynote speaker at the gala ahead of a meeting with Donald Trump about renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trudeau discussed Canada's gender-balanced cabinet in his speech, recalling how he and his team “went out and actively encouraged women to run” for election in 2015.

He added: “Studies have shown that when you ask a woman to run for politics, her first question to you is, ‘Really, do you think I should do it?’ or ‘Why me? Why do you think I would be good at it?’

“If you ask a man, his first question is usually, ‘What took you so long to ask me?’”

Sophie Trudeau Justin Trudeau Ivanka Trump
Sophie Trudeau (left), Justin Trudeau (centre) and Ivanka Trump (right) Credit: Zach Gibson/Bloomberg

The evening later got slightly awkward for the Canadian leader when the Mr Trump’s name was booed by the audience as he sat next to the president’s daughter.

Trudeau says he tries to “look for areas of agreement” when negotiating with Mr Trump, adding: “I have conversations with the president every few weeks on any number of things.”

The first daughter and Trudeau have previously met at a roundtable discussion at the White House about women in the workplace, when a photo of them together went viral.

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