Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that his country has responded more effectively to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic than the United States.

“We were able to control the virus better than many of our allies, particularly including our neighbor,” Trudeau said in a press briefing. Canada, a nation of over 37 million people, currently has 108,120 confirmed COVID-19 cases and a death toll of 8,777, as of 1:10 p.m. ET, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. has 3,016,515 confirmed cases in the U.S., the most in the world, and a death toll of 131,666.

Travel between the two countries has been closed since March, with the ban expiring on July 21. Trudeau was invited to a ceremony in the U.S. on Wednesday to celebrate a new North American trade agreement, but declined the offer. He expressed concerns about new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as the high number of coronavirus cases in the U.S.

There have been stark differences between how the U.S. and Canada have handled the pandemic. Trudeau has promoted social distancing and wearing a mask in his response to the virus, while President Trump has held crowded campaign rallies and often refused to wear a mask during public appearances.

In the early months of the pandemic, Trump frequently downplayed the virus, and more recently quipped that the U.S. should “slow down” testing. Cases are now surging in sunbelt states such as Texas and Florida, with at least 56 intensive care units having reached capacity in Florida on Tuesday.

In 2018, Trump called Trudeau “dishonest and weak” due to disagreements about tariffs, but has also called the Canadian Prime Minister “a nice guy.” The two leaders are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, with Trump belonging to the right-wing Republican Party and Trudeau leading the left-leaning Liberal Party of Canada.

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