Canada’s Outgoing Prime Minister Slams President-Elect Trump’s Suggestion of Making Canada the 51st State
Canada’s outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to make Canada the 51st state, calling it a distraction from the real issue of tariffs. Speaking with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki on Sunday, Trudeau said, “I know that as a successful negotiator, he likes to keep people a little off balance. The 51st state, that’s not going to happen. It’s just a non-starter. Canadians are incredibly proud of being Canadian.”
Trudeau noted that people are now talking about the 51st state instead of focusing on the impact of 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum coming into the United States. He added that no American wants to pay 25% more for electricity or oil and gas coming from Canada.
In response to Trump’s claim that merging with Canada would result in decreased taxes and no tariffs, Trudeau said, “That’s something I think people need to pay a little more attention to. And perhaps the idea of a 51st state is distracting a little bit from a very real question that will increase the cost of living for Americans and harm a trading relationship that works extremely well.”
Trudeau also recalled his conversation with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in November, where they discussed the US annexing Canada, and said that he joked that Canada could annex Vermont or California as a trade, but Trump was not amused.
Trudeau emphasized that his focus should be on the real issue, which is the potential impact of tariffs on the cost of living for Americans and on the trading relationship between the two countries. He reiterated that if Trump follows through with his threat of 25% tariffs, Canada would consider slapping retaliatory tariffs on American orange juice, toilets, and some steel products.
The comment came after Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports and referred to Trudeau as the “governor” of Canada. The U.S. and Canada have a long-standing trade relationship, with the U.S. being Canada’s largest trading partner.