Trump's annexation plans dismissed by Trudeau: ‘Not a snowball’s chance in hell’
The Canadian leader responded to the president-elect’s online jabs.
TroibNews 
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded on Tuesday to over a month of taunting from President-elect Donald Trump on social media, asserting that there wasn’t “a snowball’s chance in hell” of Canada becoming the 51st state of the U.S.
Trump has repeatedly used the "51st State" remark since Trudeau and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc dined with his team at Trump's Florida estate during the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend in late November.
Trudeau had accepted an invitation from Trump following threats from the president-elect to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports unless Canada did more to curb the flow of illegal drugs and migrants across their shared border.
Trudeau's team has consistently downplayed Trump’s remarks—often referring to the prime minister as “Governor Trudeau”—characterizing them as light-hearted banter.
However, Trudeau seemed to grow weary of the joke after Trump elaborated on Canada’s potential statehood during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, where he mentioned using “economic force” against Canada.
In a post on X, Trudeau stated: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States. Workers in communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly also weighed in on Tuesday with her own post on X: “President-elect Trump’s comments show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country. Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down in the face of threats.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded defiantly on X, targeting not only Trump but also his political opponents in Canada. “We are a great and independent country,” he wrote, pointing out that Canada supplies the U.S. with billions of “high-quality and totally reliable energy” while purchasing significant amounts of U.S. goods.
“Our weak and pathetic NDP-Liberal government has failed to make these obvious points,” he added.
During his press conference, Trump strongly reiterated his belief that the U.S. should acquire or annex Greenland from Denmark and take control of the Panama Canal to safeguard U.S. security interests.
When asked if he was contemplating military force to annex Canada, Trump responded, “No. Economic force because Canada and the United States, that would really be something.”
He also recounted a recent conversation with Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who he encouraged to run for prime minister, suggesting he would be a "shoo-in." Trump shared that Gretzky had asked whether he should run for prime minister or governor, to which Trump replied: “Let’s make it governor. I like it better.”
Trudeau announced his intention to resign on Monday but will remain in office until his Liberal Party selects a new leader. Additionally, he has suspended Parliament until March 24 to prevent a confidence vote that could trigger an election.
The Conservative opposition criticized Trudeau for prioritizing his party’s interests over the nation's at a time when Canada is facing economic challenges from the U.S.
“We’ve got Cabinet ministers who are supposed to be preparing for the incoming U.S. administration, supposed to be dealing with the economic challenges that they themselves have caused,” Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer stated.
“Rather than doing that, they’re going to be calling backroom insiders, and well-connected senior Liberals to raise money and build power coalitions within a political party.”
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
Trump has repeatedly used the "51st State" remark since Trudeau and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc dined with his team at Trump's Florida estate during the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend in late November.
Trudeau had accepted an invitation from Trump following threats from the president-elect to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports unless Canada did more to curb the flow of illegal drugs and migrants across their shared border.
Trudeau's team has consistently downplayed Trump’s remarks—often referring to the prime minister as “Governor Trudeau”—characterizing them as light-hearted banter.
However, Trudeau seemed to grow weary of the joke after Trump elaborated on Canada’s potential statehood during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, where he mentioned using “economic force” against Canada.
In a post on X, Trudeau stated: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States. Workers in communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly also weighed in on Tuesday with her own post on X: “President-elect Trump’s comments show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country. Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down in the face of threats.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded defiantly on X, targeting not only Trump but also his political opponents in Canada. “We are a great and independent country,” he wrote, pointing out that Canada supplies the U.S. with billions of “high-quality and totally reliable energy” while purchasing significant amounts of U.S. goods.
“Our weak and pathetic NDP-Liberal government has failed to make these obvious points,” he added.
During his press conference, Trump strongly reiterated his belief that the U.S. should acquire or annex Greenland from Denmark and take control of the Panama Canal to safeguard U.S. security interests.
When asked if he was contemplating military force to annex Canada, Trump responded, “No. Economic force because Canada and the United States, that would really be something.”
He also recounted a recent conversation with Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who he encouraged to run for prime minister, suggesting he would be a "shoo-in." Trump shared that Gretzky had asked whether he should run for prime minister or governor, to which Trump replied: “Let’s make it governor. I like it better.”
Trudeau announced his intention to resign on Monday but will remain in office until his Liberal Party selects a new leader. Additionally, he has suspended Parliament until March 24 to prevent a confidence vote that could trigger an election.
The Conservative opposition criticized Trudeau for prioritizing his party’s interests over the nation's at a time when Canada is facing economic challenges from the U.S.
“We’ve got Cabinet ministers who are supposed to be preparing for the incoming U.S. administration, supposed to be dealing with the economic challenges that they themselves have caused,” Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer stated.
“Rather than doing that, they’re going to be calling backroom insiders, and well-connected senior Liberals to raise money and build power coalitions within a political party.”
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
