Justin Trudeau, Donald Trump
Justin Trudeau, Canadian prime minister, and Donald Trump, US president Reuters

Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau are like two very different neighbours forced to live next door, but who have to get along because of some sort of garden access issue.

They'll have their first meeting on February 13 at the White House. And there's plenty to discuss. The two nations have a strong economic relationship, especially regarding trade, on which many jobs rely – so neither will want to rile the other up.

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But Trump is building a nationalist conservative administration, while the Canadian prime minister is a liberal progressive. Trump is outspoken, provocative, and has little time for old fashioned diplomacy. Trudeau has his own carefully-honed cuddly brand to protect, which clashes strikingly against his American colleague – especially on the issue of refugees.

Trudeau may find common ground with Trump over the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which will stretch from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico but was blocked by Obama because of environmental concerns. Trump has restarted work on the pipeline, though Trudeau is also conscious of the environmental impact and is having to juggle it with the economic necessity.

But there is such a contrast between the two men that it remains to be seen whether pragmatic national interest will win out, or if one of them decides to prick the other to score political points with their own core support base. Here's a selection of their tweets on some of the big issues of the day that exposes the gulf between the two men's approach and attitudes.

Refugees

Climate change

Islamic State

Nato

British royals

Donald Trump