Trudeau: There is no chance of Canada becoming part of the United States

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized US President-elect Donald Trump's statement that he could use "economic coercion" to make Canada the 51st state of the United States, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.

“There is no chance of Canada becoming part of the United States“, he wrote in an article in “Ex“. “Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being the largest trading and security partners,“ he added.

Trump, asked during a press conference at “Mar-a-Lago” whether he was considering using military force to bring Canada into the U.S. fold.

"No, economic force", he replied. "Because Canada and the United States, that would be something that would really be worth it", Trump added.

Trump, who has long complained about Canada's trade surplus with the U.S., previously told reporters that the border was an "artificially drawn line".

Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada, which does 75% of all its goods and services exports to its southern neighbor.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melania Joly had earlier said that Trump's comments "show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country". "We will never give in to threats," she added.