'We'll never be the 51st state,' Premier Ford says following Trump’s latest jab

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Canada will “never be the 51st state," rebuking U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s latest social media post.

Ford made the remark while appearing on CTV News Toronto’s Toy Mountain segment on Wednesday night.

“Canadians take care of Canadians. We don’t need to be anybody’s 51st state,” Canadian actor and comedian Mike Myers said in a video aired during the segment.

The premier agreed.

“We’ll never be the 51st state. We’re Canada. We’re proud to be Canadians. We’ll always fight for that,” Ford said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that it would be a “great idea” to make Canada an American state, claiming the U.S. is subsidizing its northern neighbour “$100,000,000 a year.”

“Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State,” Trump wrote. “They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!!”

A recent Leger poll suggests 13 per cent of Canadians want the country to become part of the U.S.

It is not the first time Trump took a jab at Canada.

Earlier this month, the incoming American president posted a photo on Truth Social showing him standing on a mountaintop right next to a Canadian flag with the caption “Oh Canada!” In another social media post, he referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the “governor” of the “great state of Canada.”

Tensions have been high between the two countries since the president-elect threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports if it does not tighten its borders to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal migrants.

The federal government has been working with all premiers to develop a plan, which could include retaliatory tariffs, if Trump moves ahead with the threat when he is inaugurated next month.

Ford has said the province would be using “every tool in its toolbox,” hinting that Ontario is prepared to cut off electricity that is powering millions of homes in New York, Michigan, and Minnesota – but only as a “last resort.”

The Ontario government has also threatened to restrict the LCBO from buying American-made alcohol, stop the export of critical minerals, and cut the U.S. out of the provincial procurement process.

Ford called Trump a “funny guy” in an interview with Fox News earlier this month after the first time Trump suggested that Canada should be an American state.

With files from CTV News staff and The Canadian Press