Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clapped back Tuesday at Donald Trump’s escalating digs that Canada would be better off if it became the 51st state.
“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,” Trudeau said in a statement posted to social media.
“Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partners.”
It is the first time Trudeau has directly commented about Trump’s 51st state remarks, which have grown in both force and number since he first quipped about it in November when Trudeau and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida to discuss Trump’s threat of tariffs.
LeBlanc has repeatedly dismissed the idea as “a joke.”
Trudeau’s only previous response was to share a 14-year-old NBC video made to explain Canada to Americans during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, saying “some information about Canada for Americans.”
Trudeau’s post came Tuesday after Trump discussed the 51st state option in his first news conference since the certification of his election a day earlier. In his remarks Trump pushed ideas for U.S. territorial expansion and would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, saying they were vital to American security.
In response to questions about his claims he will make Canada the 51st state, the president-elect said he would rely on “economic force” to merge the two countries.
“You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security,” Trump said, referring to the border between Canada and the U.S.
“And don’t forget, we basically protect Canada.”
Trump has made repeated claims about Canada joining the U.S. since November, including jabs at Trudeau, calling him a governor.
Trudeau was not the only Liberal to respond Tuesday.
“President-elect Trump’s comments show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly posted on X.
“Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down in the face of threats.”
Roland Paris, who leads the University of Ottawa graduate school of international affairs, posted on social media that Trump’s comments now sound less like jokes and “Canada must be ready to defend not only its economy but also its sovereignty.”
In a wide-ranging news conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the president-elect said he will impose “substantial” tariffs on Canada and Mexico when he returns to the White House in less than two weeks.
Trump said previously he’ll slap 25% duties on imports from America’s closest neighbours unless they stop the flow of illegal drugs and migrants across the border.
Trudeau and LeBlanc made a quick trip to Florida to discuss the threat, and a few weeks later LeBlanc announced a series of measures to beef up border security with a $1.3-billion package but Trump indicated he still intends to proceed with his tariff plan.
Trump mused about that meeting with Trudeau during Tuesday’s news conference and claimed repeatedly that Canada is subsidized by the U.S.
The Republican leader said he asked Trudeau why Canada relied on trade with the United States and suggested the prime minister responded that he didn’t know.
“I can answer it. We are doing it because of habit and we are doing it because we like our neighbours, and we’ve been good neighbours. But we can’t do it forever and it’s a tremendous amount of money,” Trump said.
“I said that’s OK to have if you are a state. But if you are another country, we don’t want to have it,” Trump added, suggesting Canada should become the 51st state.
The president-elect also criticized Canada’s level of military funding and said he told hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to run for prime minister.
— With files from The Associated Press