Canada's caretaker Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has responded sharply to US President-elect Donald Trump's suggestion that his country should merge with America and become its 51st state. Trudeau, who announced his resignation as Canadian Prime Minister on Monday, said that there is no possibility of merging the two countries.
"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 response came after Trump, who is set to assume office as the US President later this month, threatened to use "economic force" to absorb Canada into the United States.
"You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security. Canada and the United States, that would really be something," Trump said.
Trump also posted an altered map on Truth Social, showing Canada as part of US.
Earlier on Monday, after Trudeau announced his resignation, Trump had claimed that many Canadians love being a part of the US.
Ever since his election victory in November, Trump has been vocal about the possibility of absorbing Canada into the US and once even referred to Trudeau as ¡°Governor of the Great State of Canada.¡±
Canada and the US share an 8,891 km long border spanning 13 U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces, making it the longest international border in the world.
The two countries have also shared close economic ties over the years. But Trump has promised to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian imports once he assumes office. Differences within the Liberal Party government on how to deal with the Trump administration are one of the factors that expedited the resignation of Trudeau.
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