Canadian Politician Fires Back at Trump: We’ll Buy Two of YOUR States

Daily Beast / Zachary Folk Freelance Reporter

“How about if we buy Alaska. And we’ll throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time.”

A prominent Canadian politician shot back at U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion that the two countries should merge by suggesting that his nation could purchase two American border states instead. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the leader of Canada’s most populous province since 2018, joked on Monday that Canada could instead purchase Alaska and Minnesota as a counteroffer.

“I know under my watch, in Ontario, we would never be for that at all,” Ford said of Trump’s threats to acquire its northern neighbor on Canada’s CTV News. “We have the greatest country in the world. We have the greatest province anywhere.”

When a reporter asked Ford if he thought Trump was just joking, the Ontario leader gave the president-elect a counteroffer. “How about if we buy Alaska. And we’ll throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time,” Ford said. “You know, it’s not realistic.”

“I know he likes making these comments and he likes joking around—I take that seriously,” Ford added. “He may be joking, but under my watch that will never, ever happen.”

Later the same day, Ford told CNN’s Erin Burnett the counteroffer was also a joke, and that he “can appreciate [Trump’s] sense of humor.” Ford said he agreed with Trump on securing the border between the two countries, as well as Canada’s contribution to NATO.

Ford also stressed the economic connections between the two nations. The Ontario premier has previously sparred with the incoming president over his threats to levy a 25% tariff on Canadian imports.

“Canada does $1.3 trillion of trade with the US, we’re their largest trading partner. We ship down 4.3 million barrels of oil every single day. We send electricity down to the U.S., critical minerals. These are all areas in different sectors that Americans need, and why disrupt that?”

On Tuesday, Trump ramped up his aggressive rhetoric, claiming he would use “economic force” to pressure the US’s northern neighbor into a deal. This prompted Canadian leaders to join the Ontario premier in rejecting Trump’s overtures. “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a post on X.

The defiant message from Trudeau comes only a day after he announced he was preparing to step down as prime minister after his Liberal Party elects a new leader. Trump was quick to claim victory for Trudeau’s resignation.

“Canada will never be the 51st state. Period,” wrote Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre in his own post. Poilievre’s party is currently trouncing Trudeau’s Liberals in the polls, and the Conservative leader could become the country’s future prime minister after the next federal election.