'Distraction Tactic': Trudeau Reacts to Trump’s 'Canada 51st State', 'Governor' Jabs

Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has once again dismissed US President-elect Donald Trump's comments suggesting Canada could become the 51st state of the United States. Trudeau described Trump’s remarks as a distraction tactic.

In an interview with CNN, Trudeau said, "That's not gonna happen. Canadians are incredibly proud of being Canadian. One of the ways we define ourselves most easily is - we are not American. What I think is happening in this is President Trump, who is a very skilful negotiator, is getting people to be somewhat distracted by that conversation."

Recently, US President-elect Donald Trump proposed imposing a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports unless Canada strengthens its border security measures. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded by cautioning that such a move would have significant economic consequences for both countries.

He asserted that US consumers would ultimately bear the brunt of the price hikes resulting from these tariffs.

"Oil and gas and electricity and steel and aluminum and lumber and concrete and everything the American consumers buy from Canada [are] suddenly going to get a lot more expensive if he moves forward on these tariffs," Trudeau said.

This isn’t the first time Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has dismissed Trump’s proposal of making Canada the 51st US state. In an earlier response, Trudeau firmly stated, “There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.”