Trump calls Trudeau governor of the ‘Great State of Canada,’ Premier Ford responds

President-elect Donald Trump appears to be poking fun at Canada’s Prime Minister, referring to Justin Trudeau as the country’s governor in a new social media post.

Trump shared the message on Truth Social, which read in part, “It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.”

“I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in-depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the result of which will be truly spectacular for all!”

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The comments come after the two met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida earlier in the month. Trudeau spoke of “an excellent conversation” and said he looked forward to “the work we can do together again.”

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Trump was teasing when he said at the dinner that he could make Canada the 51st U.S. State.

Premier Ford touches on Trump’s late-night social media post about the PM

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was asked about Trump’s social media post, musing that it’s a good thing the President-elect is thinking about Trudeau that late at night.

“It’s probably a good relationship,” said Ford. “I am focused on making sure we’re getting this trade deal done. We’ll see what the Americans bring to the table and decide from there. If it’s appropriate, then we’ll retaliate.”

Trump has threatened 25 per cent tariffs against Canada and Mexico if the two countries do not beef up their borders to his satisfaction. Trudeau warned that steep tariffs could be “devastating for the Canadian economy” and cause “just horrific losses in all of our communities” and that Trump’s approach is to introduce “a bit of chaos” to destabilize his negotiating partners.

The Prime Minister said his government is still mulling over “the right ways” to respond to tariffs, referring to Canada’s calculated approach when Trump imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on the country.

Trump admitted on the weekend he can’t guarantee the threatened tariffs won’t raise prices for American consumers.

Speaking to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce on Monday, Trudeau said that’s because Trump’s new team is coming in with a much more precise set of ideas of what it wants to do right away than after his first election win in 2016.

He said Canada can rally together to address any pressures after Trump’s inauguration in January.

Poll suggests 13% of Canadians think Canada should become the 51st American state

A new Leger poll suggests 13 per cent of Canadians would like the country to become the next U.S. state.

The demographic breakdowns show there’s higher support among men, at 19 per cent, compared with only seven per cent of women.

Conservative party supporters came in at 21 per cent, while one in 10 Liberal voters said they were in favour of the idea. The People’s Party of Canada showed the highest level of endorsement among the federal parties, at 25 per cent, while the NDP was the lowest, at six per cent.

Among the overall population, 82 per cent opposed to the idea, the highest of which comes from Atlantic provinces, women and Canadians over the age of 55.

Leger polled 1,520 people between Dec. 6 and Dec. 9. The poll does not have a margin of error because online polls aren’t considered truly random samples.

With files from The Canadian Press