Trudeau Rejects Trump’s Idea Of Forcing Canada To Become A U.S. State

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has dismissed a suggestion by U.S.President-elect Donald Trump that he might use “economic force” to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.

“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,” he said in a post on X on Tuesday a day after he announced his decision to step down.

“Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.”

Trudeau, 53, has been Canada’s longest serving Prime Minister.

He announced his decision to step down as leader of the ruling Liberals after nine years in office but will continue in his post until the party chooses a replacement.

Trudeau also asked Governor General Mary Simon to prorogue Parliament until March 24.

Notably, Trudeau is likely to continue to be the Prime Minister on January 20 when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Trump, speaking in Mar-a-Lago, was asked if he was considering using military force to acquire Canada. “No, economic force,” he responded.

“Because Canada and the United States, that would really be something.”

Trump, who has long complained about Canada’s trade surplus with the U.S., had earlier told reporters the border was an “artificially drawn line.”

Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada, which sends 75% of all goods and services exports south of the border.

Earlier on Tuesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Trump’s comments “show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country … We will never back down in the face of threats.”

Trudeau had been reflecting on complaints about his leadership by ruling Liberal Party legislators who were unhappy over Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s resignation

A close ally had mentioned this to media after Freeland resigned last month.

Freeland resigned amid a policy clash and released a letter savaging Trudeau’s leadership, prompting one of the worst crises since he took office in 2015.

Liberal legislator Wayne Long, had then told media persons that the Prime Minister was “delusional if he thinks we can continue like this … We’re not just taking on water, we’re underwater”.

(With inputs from Reuters)