Trump taunts Trudeau by calling him 'governor' of 'a great state'

President-elect Donald Trump took a jab at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, calling him a "governor" and referring to Canada as a "great state" — another suggestion by the incoming president that this country should be part of the United States.

Trump apparently joked about Canada becoming the 51st state during his dinner with Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago last month. In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump said that if the U.S. is going to run up lopsided trade deficits with Canada, it might as well become a state.

"It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada. I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all!" Trump said in a social media post.

It's not clear why Trump is going public with this annexation taunt. It could be because Trudeau suggested Monday that Canada is prepared to take some sort of action against the U.S. if Trump does impose a punishing 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports.

"We will, of course, as we did eight years ago, respond to unfair tariffs in a number of ways and we're still looking at the right ways to respond," Trudeau said, referring to Canada's response to Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum in his first term.

Trudeau is set to meet with the premiers tomorrow to present Canada's plan to hold off Trump and his protectionist impulses.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday he wasn't troubled by Trump's late-night tweet about Trudeau.

"I'm sure not thinking of Justin Trudeau at midnight. So if he's thinking of Justin at midnight, it's probably a good relationship," Ford told reporters.

Ford said what does keep him up at night is the prospect of punitive tariffs with the potential to cripple the economy and push the country into a recession.

"I'm focused on making sure we get this trade deal done and making sure it's fair on both sides of the border. Let's have fair trade," he said.

Ford said he wants the federal government to strengthen the border, increase Canada's military spending to two per cent of GDP to meet the NATO target (low defence spending is another ongoing concern of Trump's) and draw up a concrete plan to deal with the tariff threat.

Ford said that plan may have to include retaliatory tariffs — but he'd like to avoid that if at all possible. 

"If it's appropriate, then we will retaliate. But hopefully we'll never go down that road. It's not worth it and we're so much stronger together. The last country the president should be worrying about is its closest ally and friend, Canada," he said.

Asked about Trump's annexation remarks and whether it suggests he doesn't take Canada seriously, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada is a great country.