Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday dismissed a suggestion by US President-elect Donald Trump that he might use \u201ceconomic force\u201d to make Canada the 51st US state. \u201cThere isn\u2019t a snowball\u2019s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,\u201d he said in a post on X. \u201cWorkers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other\u2019s biggest trading and security partner.\u201d Trump, speaking in Mar-a-Lago, was asked if he was considering using military force to acquire Canada. \u201cNo, economic force,\u201d he responded. \u201cBecause Canada and the United States, that would really be something.\u201d Trump, who has long complained about Canada\u2019s trade surplus with the US, had earlier told reporters the border was an \u201cartificially drawn line.\u201d Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada, which sends 75pc of all goods and services exports south of the border. Earlier on Tuesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Trump\u2019s comments \u201cshow a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country \u2026 We will never back down in the face of threats.\u201d Trudeau announced on Monday that he would step down in the coming months, bowing to pressure from lawmakers alarmed by his Liberal Party\u2019s unpopularity. The next election must be held by Oct. 20 and polls predict a crushing win for the official opposition Conservatives. \u201cCanada will never be the 51st state. Period. We are a great and independent country,\u201d Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said in a post on X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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