Influential leader of Canada's Ontario province seeks Trump, Musk meeting: US 'needs us like we need them'

President-elect Trump mused about using "economic force" to acquire Canada as the 51st state during his Mar-a-Lago news conference on Tuesday .

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded on social media that "there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States " Ontario's Doug Ford , a former businessman and conservative like Trump , said the president-elect's targeting Canada is both "crazy" and "ridiculous" Ford said the bilateral focus should be on "strengthening" what the Canadian government calls a nearly trillion-dollar two -way trade relationship.

Ontario 's premier considers Trump "a shrewd operator" and "a smart businessperson" The incoming U.S. president "knows about Ontario ," Ford said.

Ford and the premiers of the other nine provinces and three territories will meet with Trudeau next Wednesday in Ottawa to address the Trump tariff issue.

Ford 's government launched on Tuesday " Operation Deterrence ," to crack down on illegal crossings, and drugs and guns 90% of which are entering Ontario from the U., he said.