OTTAWA — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday (Jan 8) said US President-elect Donald Trump's talk of possibly annexing Canada was a tactic designed to distract people from the impact of his proposed tariffs.

Trump, who says he will impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports unless Ottawa boosts border security, on Tuesday said he was considering economic force to acquire Canada.

"What I think is happening in this is President Trump, who is a very skillful negotiator, is getting people to be somewhat distracted by that conversation," Trudeau told CNN when asked about Trump's remarks.

"Oil and gas and electricity and steel and aluminium and lumber and concrete and everything the American consumers buy from Canada (are) suddenly going to get a lot more expensive if he moves forward on these tariffs," he said.

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