Trudeau vows “not a snowball’s chance in hell" of Canada becoming 51st US state

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday meeting European leaders and when asked about the reality of Canada becoming the 51st state of the United States — something President Donald Trump has suggested repeatedly — Trudeau replied that “there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell” of that becoming a reality.

Asked about Trump’s potential tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum being as high as 50 per cent, Trudeau said, “Canada will respond as appropriate in a calibrated, but extremely strong way regardless of what the U.S. moves forward with.”

Asked about his government’s initial response to the 51st state comments, suggesting they were a joke, Trudeau was asked what had changed. “I don’t think there’s switch… We have to take seriously what [Trump] says.," the Liberal leader said.

Trudeau added that the response to the tariffs threat by Canadians has been “inspiring.”