PM Trudeau says he thinks Trump is using talk of Canada becoming 51st state to distract from tariff impact

Power Play: One-on-one with Sask. Premier Moe Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says Canada needs a prime minister that 'has a mandate' to end tariff talks with Trump.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he thinks U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is drumming up drama on Canadian statehood to detract from tariff talks.

“What I think is happening in this is President Trump, who’s a very skillful negotiator, is getting people to be somewhat distracted by that conversation,” Trudeau said in an interview Thursday on CNN with Jake Tapper.

Trudeau said he thinks Trump is doing this to take focus off the reality that “25 per cent tariffs on oil and gas, and electricity, and steel and aluminum, and lumber and concrete, and everything the American consumers buy from Canada is suddenly going to get a lot more expensive if he moves forward on these tariffs.”

“And that’s something that I think we need to be focusing on a little bit more,” Trudeau said in the in-person interview.

With no assurance, Canada readies retaliation

The prime minister’s comments come as CTV News has confirmed that Canadian officials are narrowing a list of American-made products to target with counter-tariffs in the event the federal government must respond to U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.

Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods imported into the U.S., and for months Trudeau and his team have been in talks with Trump and his officials in an effort to have the returning Republican relent.

While Trump has previously stated he’d hit Canada with the major trade action if the government didn’t address the flow of illegal drugs and migrants over the shared border, officials in this country have said Canada has been given no assurances tariffs can be avoided despite rolling out a $1.3-billion border plan.

Trudeau said that Canada doesn’t want to see the tariffs imposed, nor does the federal government want to have to impose countermeasures, but they will if provoked.

“We would definitely respond, as we did years ago when President Trump put tariffs on steel and aluminum. We responded by putting tariffs on Heinz ketchup, on playing cards, on bourbon, on Harley Davidsons, on things that that would hurt American workers,” Trudeau said. “But we don’t want to do that, because it drives up prices for Canadians and it harms our closest trading partner.”

Poilievre calls for ‘locking arms’ with allies

As for Trump’s repeated social media suggestion of annexing Canada – seeing it become the 51st U.S. state, potentially through “economic force” – Trudeau said, “That’s not going to happen.”

“One of the ways we define ourselves most easily is, ‘Well, we’re not American.’ There is such a depth of pride that that’s not actually an issue,” Trudeau said during the interview.

The American media interview aired at the same time as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre spoke to reporters on this side of the border about the looming tariff threat.

In his remarks, Poilievre said his party, if given the chance to govern would “stand up and we will state clearly that Canada is a sovereign and independent country, that we will protect our integrity as a nation through strength.”

Poilievre confirmed Thursday that he doesn’t plan to attend Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

The Conservative leader also called on the current Canadian leadership to make the case to American economic allies about the financial hit and job losses that would transpire if Trump makes good on his threat.

“We need to put Canada first by locking arms with American economic allies on the ground that will put pressure on Washington to do the right thing,” he said. “We need to go to American home builders and say ‘we can help you build more affordable homes if your government would stop tariffing our softwood lumber.’”

Trudeau says Trump didn’t factor into resignation

The prime minister was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to attend the funeral for former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. Trudeau said that while there, he did not speak with Trump.

He also denied Trump’s suggestion that his re-election played a role in Trudeau announcing on Monday that he’s stepping down as soon as the Liberal Party of Canada names his successor.

“On the contrary,” he said, going on to outline how the two countries, secured a “win, win” the last time they squared off on the trade file.

Asked about the domestic turmoil he’s been facing, and the discontent among voters about how the Liberals handled various issues, including inflation, Trudeau said there were “a lot of feelings involved.”

“If you look at the actual numbers, inflation in Canada was lower, came down quicker… but when someone’s paying $8 for a head of lettuce, it doesn’t matter that you’re doing better than they are in Spain or somewhere else,” he said. “There’s a sense that ‘OK, something’s got to give,’ and that’s where incumbents are in trouble.”

With files from CTV News' Mike Le Couteur, Spencer Van Dyk and Stephanie Ha