“Never, ever, will Canada be part of the United States,” Prime Minister Trudeau wrote, on business and security partner.”
Mr. Trump on Tuesday threatened to use “economic force” to make Canada the 51st state and repeated his threats of tariffs while criticizing Canada’s military spending and trade with the United States.
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Evan Vucci/The Canadian Press)
“If you get rid of that artificially drawn line and look at what it looks like, that would be much better for national security as well,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the border between Canada and the United States.
“And remember, essentially, we are protecting Canada.”
During his first press conference since the certification of his electoral victory, Mr. Trump also reiterated that he will impose “substantial” tariffs on Canada and Mexico when he returns to the White House in less than two weeks .
The president-elect had already announced that he would impose 25% tariffs on the United States’ neighbors unless Canada and Mexico can stem “the flow of illegal drugs across the border.”
Already last November, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Mr. Trump’s property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, to try to appease these threats of customs tariffs.
Canada then announced a series of measures to strengthen the border, with a $1.3 billion package, but Mr. Trump indicated he still intended to implement his tariff plan.
Donald Trump recalled his meeting with Justin Trudeau during Tuesday’s press conference and repeatedly claimed that Canada was subsidized by the United States.
The Republican leader said he asked Mr. Trudeau why Canada relied on trade with the United States and suggested that the prime minister responded that he did not know.
“I can answer. We do it out of habit and we do it because we love our neighbors and we are good neighbors. But we can’t do it forever and it’s a huge amount of money,” Mr. Trump argued.
“I said it’s fine if you’re a state. But if you are another country, we don’t want to have it,” added the president-elect, suggesting that Canada should become the 51st state.
The president-elect also criticized Canada’s level of military funding and said he suggested hockey legend Wayne Gretzky run for prime minister.
On Monday, after the announcement of Mr. Trudeau’s upcoming departure, Mr. Trump argued that the prime minister was resigning because he knew the United States would not tolerate trade deficits with Canada. He also estimated that many Canadians “would love” for Canada to become the 51st American state.
