Justin Trudeau hit back at Donald Trump's threat to use economic force to absorb Canada into the US.

Not a snowball's chance in hell: Trudeau on Trump's US-Canada merger threat

US President-elect Donald Trump threatened to use "economic force" to pressure Canada into becoming the 51st US state.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Donald Trump proposes economic force to make Canada a US state
  • Justin Trudeau says it is impossible to happen
  • Calls US biggest trading and security partner

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau firmly rejected US President-elect Donald Trump's suggestion of using "economic force" to make Canada the 51st US state, emphasising that such a situation is impossible to happen.

"There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States," the Canadian Prime Minister tweeted.

He added, "Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other's biggest trading and security partner".

In November, during a meeting with Trudeau, Trump suggested Canada become the 51st US state. This was in response to Trudeau raising concerns that Trump’s threatened tariffs on Canada would damage Canada’s economy.

Commenting on the same on Tuesday at a press briefing in Mar-a-Lago, when asked if he was considering using military force to acquire Canada, the President-elect said, “No, economic force,” he responded. “Because Canada and the United States, that would really be something”.

Trump, who has long complained about Canada's trade surplus with the US, had earlier told reporters the border was an "artificially drawn line".

The Republican leader has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada, which sends 75 per cent of all goods and services exports south of the border.

Earlier on Tuesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly also criticised Trump's comments "show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country ... We will never back down in the face of threats".

Trudeau announced on Monday that he would step down in the coming months, bowing to pressure from lawmakers alarmed by his Liberal Party's unpopularity. The next election must be held by Oct. 20 and polls predict a crushing win for the official opposition Conservatives.

"Canada will never be the 51st state. Period. We are a great and independent country," Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said in a post on X.

Donald Trump is set to take over the US administration on January 20.