By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-10 16:32:23 | Updated at 2025-01-10 20:05:16
3 hours ago
Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed how he got President-elect Donald Trump to shift his attention away from annexing Canada at their meeting last year.
Trudeau shared that the Trump's wish to make his country a U.S. state did come up during his sit down at Mar-a-Lago late last year when he traveled to Florida to meet with the president-elect.
'We started musing back and forth about this,' Trudeau recalled. 'And I started to suggest well maybe there could be a trade for Vermont or California for certain parts.'
The Canadian leader shared what went down in an interview with MSNBC's Jen Psaki.
'He immediately decided that it was not that funny any more, and we moved on to a different conversation,' Trudeau said.
The prime minister reiterated again that Canada becoming the 51st state 'will not ever happen' and warned he needs to stay focused on Trump's tariff threats.
'If he does choose to go forward with tariffs that raise the cost of just about everything for American citizens, that on top of that we're going to have to have a robust response to that,' Trudeau said.
Trump's talk of annexing Canada and making it the 51st state picked up after he won the presidential election in November. Weeks later he threatened 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian imports.
Outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he suggested to Trump that the U.S. trade two states for parts of Canada during their meeting as the president-elect calls for Canada to be the 51st state, and Trump decided it was 'not that funny anymore' and they moved on to other conversation
The president-elect has accused U.S.'s northern neighbor of not doing enough to stop the flow of drugs and immigrants across the border as well as taking advantage on trade.
While Trudeau got Trump to stop talking about making a Canada a state when they met, the president-elect has repeated his needling on the subject ever since.
He even repeated his claim that Canada should be the 51st state at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday night.
'I called him Governor Trudeau because they should be the 51st state really. It would make a great state,' Trump said. He also baselessly claimed the people of Canada like it.
He also repeated his threat of tariffs on Canada, the U.S.' biggest trade partner, specifically singling out the car and lumber industries.
Trump then claimed the U.S. does not need their fuel or energy.
'We don't need anything that they have,' he claimed even as U.S. crude oil imports from Canada hit the highest level on record this month.
Trudeau has been warning that everything Americans buy from Canada from fuel to building materials would suddenly become more expensive if Trump moved forward with his tariffs.
Economists have warned that some products also cross the border in the supply chain multiple times, so tariffs would add up quickly.
They've pointed out that the threatened tariffs are not consistent with U.S. trade agreements, so it signals the U.S. might not be a reliable partner moving forward.
Trudeau with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after he went to meet with the president-elect to discuss Trumps' threat of tariffs
Trump repeated his interest in Canada becoming a U.S. state in a meeting with Republican governors on January 9
But the prime minister told MSNBC that during his Florida visit, they also had some 'good conversations' about what they can do together when Trump takes office.
Trudeau addressed Trump's concerns about the border by arguing less than one percent of illegal immigration and drugs heading into the U.S. come from Canada.
'We're not a problem,' Trudeau said. 'But we're happy to and we've actually responded to his request for us to do more.'
The prime minister said Canada has invested billions into border security to better handle illegal activity at the U.S. northern border but the greater concern is the U.S. southern border.
He said Canada will continue to respond to Trump's border concerns because it's in the interest of both countries.
