Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said US President-elect Donald Trump’s rhetoric about merging the United States with Canada distracts people from the costs Americans will face as a result of steep tariffs on Canadian goods.
Speaking to CNN on Thursday in his first media interview since announcing his intention to resign, Trudeau also opposed the idea of Canada becoming the 51st US state, which Trump has increasingly spoken about in press conferences and on social media.
“That’s not going to happen,” Trudeau said.
“What I think is happening in this is that President Trump, who is a very skilled negotiator, is getting people somewhat distracted by this conversation, to take out of the conversation about 25 percent of the tariffs on oil and gas and electricity and steel and aluminum and wood. Concrete and everything American consumers buy from Canada will suddenly become much more expensive if these tariffs go ahead.
“That’s something I think we need to focus on a little more.”
Trudeau was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to attend the state funeral of former US President Jimmy Carter. Trudeau said he did not interact with Trump, who also attended the service.
Trump has repeatedly raised the idea of making Canada a US state, citing imbalances in trade and defence.
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During a press conference on Tuesday, Trump said he would use “economic force” to force Canada to join the United States, while reiterating his threat to impose “significant” tariffs on all Canadian imports to “compensate” for cross-border flows of migrants and drugs. border.
Trudeau quickly responded, saying “there’s not much of a chance in hell” that Canada would become part of the United States, and he said so again on Thursday.
“Canadians are very proud to be Canadian,” he said. “One of the ways we easily define ourselves is that we are not American.”
Trudeau told CNN that Trump made fair points on border security, and that his government’s recently announced $1.3 billion border plan was a “clear victory for President Trump.”
However, Trump has not backed down from his tariff threat.
Trump has consistently claimed that imposing tariffs on foreign goods would increase US revenues by billions of dollars, and is pushing back against economists who say global tariffs are inflationary and raise prices for American consumers.
Several prime ministers have taken to American airwaves in recent weeks to make clear that Trump’s tariffs would be harmful to both countries.
“We don’t want to see tariffs on our side, and we don’t want to see tariffs on your side,” Trudeau told CNN. “It’s bad for people who have made things together for generations and succeeded together.
“We have a lot more resources in Canada than our market can support, so we export it to our closest friends who can rely on it. It’s a win-win for us.”
Trudeau said Canada will “certainly respond” to US tariffs as it did in 2018, when Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Canada subsequently raised tariffs on several prominent US exports such as motorcycles and bourbon, before the two countries ended the trade war a year later.
“We don’t want to do that because it raises prices for Canadians and hurts our closest trading partner,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau said Trump’s re-election and escalatory rhetoric against Canada did not influence his decision to step down as prime minister.
He said there was “a lot of emotion” among Canadians who were nervous about his leadership, and that “misinformation and disinformation” about his government’s policies played a role.
Although he pointed to data indicators that Canada’s economy has recovered from inflation better than other countries, Trudeau acknowledged that “when someone pays $8 for a head of lettuce, it doesn’t matter that you’re doing better than in other countries.” Spain”. Or somewhere else.”
In response to a question about the advice he would give to his replacement in dealing with Trump, Trudeau said that his successor must continue to emphasize that “we do best when we work together.”
“This is the focus we need, and this is certainly what I will continue to work on with President Trump,” he said.
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