Trump doubles down on Canada merging with US after Trudeau resigns as PM

WASHINGTON -- US President-elect Donald Trump reacted Monday to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation announced earlier in the day, doubling down on his notion that Canada should be absorbed into the United States as the latter's 51st state.

"Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, his own social media platform.

Having previously threatened to impose a 25 percent additional tariff on Canadian imports, the president-elect said this time around that "if Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down," adding that if Canada and the United States were to become one nation, "what a great Nation it would be!!!"

Earlier in the day, Trudeau, who has been facing domestic political pressure as Trump continuously taunted Canada as a state of the United States, announced at a press conference in Canada's capital city of Ottawa that he intended to "resign as party leader, as prime minister," after his Liberal Party "selects its next leader through a robust nationwide, competitive process."

Trump's reaction to Trudeau's resignation came on the same day the US Congress convened a joint session certifying his victory in the 2024 presidential election. Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th U.S. president on Jan 20.