Should Canada be America's 51st state? Trump was 'teasing us,' says minister
CTV
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with all opposition leaders today before question period to brief them about his meeting with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with all opposition leaders today before question period to brief them about his meeting with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.
Senior government sources tell CTV News the meeting will happen at 1 p.m. this afternoon and all opposition leaders will be in attendance.
The meeting comes four days after Trudeau met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where the two spoke about a wide range of issues the incoming president would like to see addressed. Trump has threatened 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and the Mexico unless they halt the flow of illegal drugs and migrants over the border.
It was in that meeting — according to U.S. network Fox News — that Trump joked that if the tariffs debilitated the Canadian economy, perhaps Canada should become the country’s 51st state.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc also attended the three-hour “social evening” at Trump’s Florida estate, and told reporters on Parliament Hill Tuesday the comment was light-hearted.
“The president-(elect) was telling jokes, the president-(elect) was teasing us,” LeBlanc said before a cabinet meeting. “It was, of course, on that issue in no way a serious comment.”
LeBlanc says the evening touched on a wide range of issues, including trade and border security, adding it was very productive.
