Ongoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hit back on Tuesday at President-elect Trump over his threats to annex America’s northern neighbor.
“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States. Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner,” Trudeau said on X.
His post follows Trump at a press conference earlier on Tuesday saying he would not consider using the military to make Canada a part of the U.S., but would use “economic force.” He complained that the U.S. has spent “hundreds of billions” of dollars to protect Canada while running a trade deficit.
Trump has repeatedly mused about the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state, taunting Trudeau recently by calling him “governor.” And he has threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian imports.
Trudeau on Monday announced his decision to step down as prime minister and the head of the progressive Liberal Party. That sets off a competitive race for the head of the party that will challenge the increasingly popular Conservatives in elections set to be held by Oct. 20.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, has also rebuffed Trump’s calls for the U.S. to absorb Canada, as have other top Canadian officials.
Trump also on Tuesday repeated his suggestion for hockey great Wayne Gretzky to consider running for prime minister of Canada, an idea that he first floated late last month before Trudeau announced his resignation.
