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Earlier in the day, the incoming president was asked whether he would consider using “military force” to annex Canada, given Trump’s refusal to rule out resorting to such measures to secure control of Greenland and the Panama Canal.

“No. Economic force, because Canada and the United States, that would really be something,” Trump said at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.

“You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like 鈥� it would also be much better for national security.鈥�

Trump went on to state that the U.S. spends “hundreds of billions” of dollars to “protect” and “take care of Canada,” clarifying that while the U.S. has “no right” to claim a sovereign nation, Canada should simply become an American state if it is receiving so much support from its southern neighbour.聽

Trump said he asked Trudeau, during the prime minister’s trip to Florida in late November, what would happen if the U.S. were to no longer “subsidize” Canada. Last year, according to , the U.S. trade deficit in goods with Canada as of November was around $55 billion USD.

“I said, ‘What would happen if we didn’t do it?’ He said, ‘Canada would dissolve,’” said Trump, who also told reporters he still believes hockey legend Wayne Gretzky should be prime minister.

Trudeau and several of his top advisers travelled to Mar-a-Lago last year after Trump vowed to slap a 25 per cent tariff on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico in an effort to clamp down on the flow of migrants and fentanyl across both borders.聽

The prime minister has said that following through with such a pledge would be 鈥渄evastating鈥� for the Canadian economy, and earmarked $1.3 billion in border security measures in response to the threat.聽

On Tuesday, the president-elect doubled down on imposing the punishing tariffs as part of his America-first agenda when he returns to the White House later this month, and said the U.S. has no need for Canadian automotive, dairy or lumber products.

“They send us hundreds of thousands of cars. They make a lot of money with that. They send us a lot of other things that we don’t need 鈥� We’ve got a lot of everything, and we don’t need any of it,” Trump said.

“So I said to him, ‘Well, why are we doing it?’ He said, ‘I don’t really know.’ He was unable to answer the question.”

The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to the Star’s requests for comment regarding Trump鈥檚 remarks.

Trudeau and Trump are expected to attend the funeral of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter in Washington on Thursday.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said on X that the incoming president鈥檚 comments “show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country.”

“Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down in the face of threats,” Joly wrote.

Nevertheless, Trudeau鈥檚 decision to announce his pending resignation and prorogue Parliament until March drew the ire of the federal Conservatives on Tuesday, who argued the prime minister鈥檚 move is putting Canada on the back foot at a time of great economic uncertainty.聽

In a statement, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said 鈥淐anada will never be the 51st state鈥� and said the 鈥渨eak and pathetic NDP-Liberal government鈥� had failed to acknowledge both countries鈥� close trading relationship.