Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Wednesday that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s assertions that Canada should become the 51st state should be taken seriously, after he initially dismissed them as a joke.

Justin Trudeau chose Jan. 6, a day fraught with significance for Americans, to announce he will depart from the Canadian Office of the Prime Minister. He did so after last year’s visit to President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club spectacularly misfired.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc who was considered among the frontrunners has said that he will not be in the contest to succeed to Justin Trudeau

Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc has decided not to run for leadership of the Liberal Party, saying he needs to focus on countering the threat of tariffs from Donald Trump’s administration.

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Canada's ruling Liberal Party is looking for a new leader to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced on Monday he intended to step down.