President-elect Trump said Tuesday he was not considering using military force to make Canada part of the United States after repeatedly musing about the idea of the country becoming the 51st state.
Instead, Trump said he intended to use "economic force" against the neighbor to the north.
"Because Canada and the United States, that would really be something. You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security," Trump said.
Trump complained that the U.S. spent "hundreds of billions" of dollars to protect Canada while running a trade deficit. He has previously threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian imports.
Earlier in his press conference, Trump said he had suggested hockey legend Wayne Gretzky should consider running for prime minister of Canada after Justin Trudeau announced his resignation from the role.
Canadian leaders, incluidng Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, have rebuffed Trump's calls for the United States to absorb Canada.
"My message to incoming President Trump is that first and foremost, Canada will never be the 51st state of the U.S.,” Poilievre said in an interview with CTV late last month.
