Prime Minister dismisses Trump’s 51st state suggestion

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is ready to fight back in a trade war against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Trudeau is dismissing Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st American state.

Trudeau appeared today in an interview on the MSNBC news channel in the U.S. He continues to push back against the 51st-state suggestion, stating that Canadians won’t go along with Trump’s idea. Trudeau suggests that Trump is using the 51st-state notion to distract from his threat of imposing tariffs.

If Trump follows through on his tariff threat, Trudeau says Canada is prepared to respond with its own tariffs that would impact those who support Trump.

Trudeau also says that Trump’s idea of annexing Canada came up jokingly during their meeting at Mar-a-Lago in November. Trudeau countered by suggesting Canada could take over Vermont or California instead, and Trump quickly dropped the subject.

The Prime Minister adds that from his meetings with Trump over the years, it’s clear that Trump admires Canada as a great country.