Trump was joking when he suggested Canada become 51st state: Liberal minister

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OTTAWA — President-elect Donald Trump was joking when he suggested Canada become the 51st U.S. state during a dinner with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Florida on Friday, said a Liberal minister who attended the meeting.

Fox News reported on Monday that Trump made the comment in response to the Canadians raising concerns that tariffs would hurt their economy.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc says the incoming president’s suggestion was said in jest.

“The president was telling jokes, the president was teasing us. It was of course on that issue in no way a serious comment,” LeBlanc told reporters on his way into a cabinet meeting.

He described the meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as a lighthearted social evening.

“We had a discussion on trade issues, on border security that was very productive. But the fact that there’s a warm, cordial relationship between the two leaders and the president is able to joke like that for us was a positive thing,” LeBlanc said.

Five days before the dinner Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico unless the two countries stop migrants and illicit drugs such as fentanyl from entering the U.S.

LeBlanc said on Monday that the group discussed the impact of tariffs on Americans during the meeting, including that imposing tariffs on Canada would hurt the U.S. economy as well.