Amid a looming tariff threat, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump appears to be mocking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, referring to him as “Governor Justin Trudeau” in a post on Truth Social early Tuesday.
“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 wrote.
Trump’s remark comes hours after Trudeau said Canada will respond if the U.S. moves ahead with a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian imports unless Canada addresses Trump’s border concerns.
“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 at a fireside chat with the Halifax Chamber of Commerce on Monday.
While Trudeau acknowledged this latest threat is “more challenging” and the economic impact of the tariffs would be “devastating,” the prime minister also appealed for calm, saying “not to panic.”
“Knowing that yes, (the tariffs) would be absolutely devastating means we have to take them seriously, but it does mean we have to be thoughtful and strategic, not go around making our opponents’ arguments for him, but making our arguments in a significant and united way,” Trudeau said.
Trump’s tariffs in 2018
During his first term as U.S. president, Trump in 2018 triggered a nearly yearlong trade war imposing a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel products and 10 per cent on Canadian aluminum. In response, Canada unveiled a 25 per cent counter tariff on a long list of American steel and aluminum products, along with a 10 per cent surtax on miscellaneous U.S. goods including coffee, prepared meals and maple syrup. Those retaliatory tariffs were eventually lifted in 2019 after Canada, the U.S. and Mexico reached a deal.
Trump once again announced plans to impose a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian aluminum in August 2020, but later hit pause amid the looming presidential election later that year.
Less than two weeks ago, Trudeau – along with his chief of staff Katie Telford and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc– made a surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago to have dinner with Trump and members of his incoming administration to discuss the tariff threat.
Following the meeting, U.S. network Fox News reported Trump joked during the dinner in Florida that if said tariffs debilitated the Canadian economy — as the prime minister conveyed to him — perhaps Canada should become America’s 51st state.
Canadian politicians later downplayed the joke, with LeBlanc saying, “The president was teasing us.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump pose for a photo during dinner at Mar-A-Lago Resort, West Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 29, 2024. (Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s X account)
Meanwhile, in an interview with CTV News Channel’s Power Play last week, Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman described the comment as “reassuring.”
“(Trump) made jokes, other people at the table made jokes,” Hillman said, who was part of the Canadian delegation to Mar-a-Lago, though she wasn’t seated at the same table as Trump and Trudeau during the three-hour dinner. “People were making jokes, which, actually, I have to say, I find to be reassuring that people are that comfortable with each other, that they’re teasing.”
But following that meeting, two senior government sources told CTV News that it was conveyed to the Canadian delegation the tariffs are unavoidable in the immediacy, but solutions in the longer term are on the table, particularly if the border is better secured.
In his first post-election interview, Trump doubled down on his tariff threat, calling the measure “beautiful.”
“I’m a big believer in tariffs. I think tariffs are the most beautiful word. I think they’re beautiful. It’s going to make us rich,” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet The Press that aired Sunday.
Trump also made reference to Canada becoming a U.S. state.
“We’re subsidizing Canada to the tune over $100 billion a year. We’re subsidizing Mexico for almost $300 billion. We shouldn’t be — why are we subsidizing these countries?” Trump said. “If we’re going to subsidize them, let them become a state.”
In that interview, the U.S. president-elect later reiterated his border concerns.
“We can’t have open borders. And I said to the president of Mexico and to Justin Trudeau, if it doesn’t stop, I’m going to put tariffs on your country at about 25 per cent,” Trump said.
In the wake of the tariff threat, the federal government says it will be adding more personnel and equipment resources at the border, but so far has yet to outline specifics.
With files from CTV News’ Spencer Van Dyk