Ontario Premier Doug Ford has responded to Donald Trump’s frequent jibes about treating Canada like a U.S. state with a counterproposal: buying Alaska.
“You know one thing, I will make the president a counteroffer; How about we buy Alaska and add Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time?,” Ford said Monday while speaking to reporters about the threat of looming tariffs and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement that he will resign.
For weeks, Trump has mocked Canada, referring to Trudeau as “Governor Justin Trudeau” and calling Canada “the 51st.”street state.”
In a recent post on X, Trump’s son Eric also shared a Photoshopped image of his father shopping for Canada on Amazon, along with Greenland and the Panama Canal.
The mockery comes amid a threat by Trump to impose a blanket 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods imported into the United States, starting on his first day in office. Trump has said the only way to avoid the tariff is for Canada to stop the flow of drugs and migrants at the border.
Canadian officials, while taking the tariff threat seriously, have mostly ignored Trump’s insults.
Ford, for his part, has mostly referred to Trump having a sense of humor and likes to joke when asked about the comments.
But on Monday he apparently felt enough was enough.
“It’s not realistic,” he said when asked about the threat to annex Canada. “I know he (Trump) likes to make these comments and likes to joke. I take it seriously. I may be joking, but under my watch, that will never, ever happen.”
Ford offered his latest comments on the tariff threats while reacting to Trudeau’s announcement Monday that he will resign as prime minister after a Liberal leadership race is held to replace him.
Ford said that despite the political turmoil, he hopes federal officials will remain focused on the tariff threat.
“We need an all-hands-on-deck approach. “We need the prime minister to continue doing his job,” Ford said.
He added that if the tariffs, which some experts have described as an “existential threat” to the Canadian economy, go ahead, then Canada will have to retaliate.
“If they move forward, we need to make sure the federal government has a solid plan,” Ford said. “The Prime Minister said he would sit down with all the Prime Ministers for a face-to-face meeting. I still want him to keep that promise. He will remain prime minister for a month, maybe two months. “That has to be your number one focus.”
Trump also reacted Monday to Trudeau’s resignation, suggesting it was a sign the country can’t cut it on its own and double down on annexation.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st state. The United States can no longer suffer the huge trade deficits and subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. “Justin Trudeau knew it and resigned,” Trump wrote in Truth Social.
“If Canada merged with the United States, there would be no tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be COMPLETELY SAFE from the threat of Russian and Chinese ships constantly surrounding them. “Together, what a great Nation we would be!!!”
With files from The Canadian Press
