Trump leans into 51st state talk by praising ‘Governor’ Justin Trudeau of Canada

The leader of Canada has a new nickname — “Governor” Justin Trudeau.

President-elect Donald Trump bestowed the title on the prime minister after a dinner meeting at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Mr. Trump reportedly joked about annexing Canada as a state if it couldn’t handle U.S.-imposed tariffs on its goods.

“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada,” Mr. Trump posted early Tuesday on Truth Social. “I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all!”

Mr. Trump has threatened to impose a 60% tariff on goods from China and a 25% tariff on products from Canada and Mexico if those countries do not control illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Tariffs are a form of tax or duty paid on imports. Mr. Trump says tariffs are a great way to force companies to base or keep their operations in the U.S., employ American workers and create revenue to fund domestic programs.

While tariffs hurt foreign countries by making their products more expensive and harder to sell in the U.S., foreign countries don’t pay the tariffs directly to the U.S. Treasury.

Companies pay the levies and decide whether to pass the cost to consumers through higher prices.

It is unclear if Mr. Trump will follow through on his threat or if he is trying to compel policy outcomes before his inauguration.

Mr. Trump joked about Canada becoming a state after Mr. Trudeau reportedly mentioned the harm tariffs would do to his domestic economy.

The president-elect says too many countries have trade relationships with the U.S. that favor them but not Americans.

“If we’re going to subsidize them, let them become a state. We’re subsidizing Mexico, and we’re subsidizing Canada,” Mr. Trump recently told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

It is unclear what prompted Mr. Trump’s “governor” taunt, but Mr. Trudeau did say Monday he was prepared to retaliate if Mr. Trump imposed new levies.

“We will of course, as we did eight years ago, respond to unfair tariffs,” Mr. Trudeau told the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.

He also said the U.S. economy would suffer from a trade war, particularly because Canada supplies plenty of crude oil, aluminum and steel to the U.S.