Trudeau: Here's What Trump's '51st State' Remarks Are Doing

Canada's outgoing PM says Trump doesn't want Americans to realize how tariffs will hurt them
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 13, 2025 3:00 AM CST
Trudeau: Trump's '51st State' Remarks Are Just a Distraction
President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pose for a photo as Trudeau arrives at the White House in Washington, on Oct. 11, 2017.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Canada's outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday suggested that President-elect Trump's remarks about Canada becoming America's "51st state" have distracted attention from the harm that steep tariffs would inflict on US consumers, the AP reports. "The 51st state, that's not going to happen," Trudeau said in an interview with MSNBC. "But people are talking about that, as opposed to talking about what impact 25% tariffs (have) on steel and aluminum coming into the United States." Trudeau told MSNBC: "No American wants to pay 25% more for electricity or oil and gas coming in from Canada. That's something I think people need to pay a little more attention to."

"I know that as a successful negotiator he likes to keep people off balance," Trudeau said of Trump's threats to use economic force to turn Canada into the 51st state. Trump has also erroneously cast the US trade deficit with Canada—a natural resource-rich nation that provides the US with commodities like nearly a quarter of the oil the US consumes each day—as a subsidy. Canadian officials say that if Trump follows through with his threat of punishing tariffs, Canada would consider slapping retaliatory tariffs on American orange juice, toilets, and some steel products. "He got elected to try and make life easier for all Americans, to support American workers," Trudeau said of Trump. "These (tariffs) are things that are going to hurt them."

(More Justin Trudeau stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X