Donald Trump on Monday renewed his call for the merger of Canada with the United States following the resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“If Canada merged with the US, there would be no tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be totally secure from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them,” incoming President Trump posted on social media.
“Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!” he added.
Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, saying he would leave office as soon as the ruling Liberal party chooses a new leader after months of slumping polls and internal division.
“I intend to resign as party leader, as Prime Minister, after the party selects its next leader,” Trudeau, who has been in power since 2015, told reporters in Ottawa following a protracted political crisis that saw top Liberal allies urge him to quit.
It was not immediately clear how long Trudeau would remain in office as a caretaker premier.
He said the Liberal leadership race would be “a robust, nationwide competitive process.”
That means Trudeau will continue to lead Canada when Trump takes office this month and will be tasked with leading the country’s initial response to the new US administration, including a possible trade war.
According to AFP, Trump had vowed to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports, which could prove devastating to the Canadian economy, and Trudeau had pledged to retaliate.
Before taking over the Liberal Party in 2013, Trudeau, now 53, was not a leading political figure.
His most prominent political attribute at the time was arguably the fact that his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, had been one of Canada’s most famous prime ministers.
