Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says talk of Canada becoming the 51st state is a distraction from the more pressing threats of U.S. tariffs on Canada and their likely impact.
In an interview broadcast today on MSNBC, he says Canada is ready to respond with retaliatory tariffs if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his threat to impose blanket 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico when he takes action. office next week.
Trump has also referred to Canada as the “51st state,” a notion that federal cabinet ministers initially considered a joke but now appear to be taking more seriously.
Appearing on “Inside with Jen Psaki,” Trudeau says Canadians need to take Trump’s expansionist rhetoric seriously, and that there’s a certain “flattery” in Trump seeing how big the country is.
Still, Trudeau said the whole idea is “a failure,” and that Canadians are “incredibly proud” to be Canadians, and that his government is looking for ways to deal with potential tariffs.
Trudeau said he was able to negotiate a mutually beneficial deal with Trump the last time they were both in office, and he highlighted the strength of the Canadian border in their meeting last month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2025.
