“I just left Wayne Gretzky, The Great One as it is known in the hockey world,” Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Wednesday afternoon.
“I said to him, 'Wayne, why don't you run for prime minister of Canada, which will soon be known as governor of Canada? You would win easily, you wouldn’t even need to campaign.” He was not interested,” added the president-elect.
His comment about being governor of Canada refers to the fact that Mr. Trump has repeatedly suggested the country become a U.S. state, which Ottawa maintains is just a joke.
Donald Trump added that it would be “fun to watch” if Canadians launched a movement to encourage the retired hockey player to run for office.
The Canadian Press attempted to contact Mr. Gretzky through his agents.
Political experts say Ottawa is right to focus on the potential damaging tariffs that Mr. Trump threatens to impose, instead of responding to talk about annexing or buying Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is leading a minority government that could be ousted by a confidence vote next year after the surprise resignation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Conservative support
Mr. Gretzky has previously supported conservative politicians, such as former Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leader Patrick Brown during his campaign for the party leadership.
During the 2015 federal election, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper interviewed Mr. Gretzky in front of hundreds of supporters as the Conservatives unsuccessfully sought re-election.
At the event, Mr. Gretzky told Mr. Harper that he considered him an “unreal prime minister” who had been “wonderful to the whole country.”
Wayne Gretzky later said he would always acquiesce to a prime minister's requests, regardless of political stripe, noting that he once hosted a luncheon for former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau.
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