Trudeau tells Trump there's 'not a snowball's chance in hell' Canada will join US

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister responds after US president-elect says he may take northern neighbour by 'economic force'

Justin Trudeau, Canada's Prime Minister, has dismissed president-elect Donald Trump’s idea of Canada becoming the 51st state of the US. David Kawai / Bloomberg

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hit back at Donald Trump after the US president-elect claimed he might use “economic force” to make Canada the 51st US state.

“There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,” Mr Trudeau said in a post on X.

“Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other's biggest trading and security partner.”

Mr Trump, speaking in Mar-a-Lago, was asked if he was considering using military force to acquire Canada. “No, economic force,” he responded. “Because Canada and the United States, that would really be something.”

The Republican, who has long complained about Canada's trade surplus with the US, earlier told reporters the border was an “artificially drawn line.” Mr Trump 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.

In an outlandish, hour-long press conference on Tuesday, Mr Trump refused to rule out taking back the Panama Canal, which the US handed to Panama in 1999, and suggested he may take over Greenland, which has a strategic location and rare earth minerals. Mr Trump also suggested the Gulf of Mexico should be renamed the 'Gulf of America'.

Earlier on Tuesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Mr 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”.

Mr 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 October 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.