Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told CNN that despite incoming President Donald Trump’s repeated talk of Canada becoming the 51st state, it is “not going to happen” and the comments are part of a strategy to distract from 25 percent tariffs that would also harm Americans.
“Canadians are incredibly proud of being Canadian,” Trudeau said in the Jan. 9 interview where he also spoke about U.S. tariffs, his plan to resign, and the California wildfires.
“One of the ways we define ourselves most easily is, well, we’re not American. There is such a depth of pride, that that’s not actually an issue.”
A few days earlier, Trump said during a press conference that he would use “economic force” to merge Canada with the United States, as a combination of the two countries would be “really be something.”
Trump also said on Jan. 7 that the United States loses hundreds of millions per year having to “subsidize” Canada and doesn’t need to rely on Canadian products like lumber, dairy, and automotive vehicles.
In response, Trudeau said on X that there is not a “snowball’s chance in hell” that Canada would become part of the United States,” adding that both our…
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