Canada 51st state: Justin Trudeau says comments ‘flattering,’ but ‘non-starter’ [Video]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says talk of Canada becoming the 51st state is a distraction from more pressing threats of U.S tariffs on Canada and their likely impact.

In an interview that aired Sunday on MSNBC, he said Canada is ready to respond with retaliatory tariffs should president-elect Donald Trump follow through with a threat to impose 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico when he takes office next week.

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Trump has also referred to Canada as the “51st state,” a notion federal cabinet ministers initially played off as a joke but now appear to be taking more seriously.

Appearing on “Inside with Jen Psaki,” Trudeau said Canadians need to take Trump’s expansionist rhetoric seriously, and that there …