Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country is flattered by President-elect Trump’s interest in growing the U.S. but the feeling is not shared by America’s northern neighbor.

“The 51st state, that’s not going to happen,” Mr. Trudeau told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki. “It’s just a nonstarter. Canadians are incredibly proud of being Canadian.”

Mr. Trudeau, who announced plans to resign last week, lamented that Mr. Trump’s territorial aspirations had distracted people’s attention away from the president-elect proposing 25% tariffs on Canadian products coming into the U.S.

A few weeks after winning the election in November, Mr. Trump said he intended to implement a 25% tariff on all products coming into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico. Mr. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he would begin implementing the policy as one of his first executive orders after taking office.

The president-elect has since talked about acquiring Canada, Greenland, and controlling the Panama Canal.

Mr. Trudeau said people should take Mr. Trump’s expansionist statements seriously.

“I think there is a certain amount of flattery in this, that he thinks that we are as great as we are,” Mr. Trudeau told MSNBC. “He’s right. We are great. We’re also very, very proud of being Canadian.”

Amid Mr. Trudeau’s reluctance and plans to step aside, Mr. Trump has floated hockey legend Wayne Gretzky becoming Canada’s new leader.

“I was with Wayne Gretzky. I said Wayne, ‘Would you like to be the governor of Canada?’ I can’t imagine anybody doing any better than Wayne,” Mr. Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago residence last week. “Wayne was not too interested. But I think he probably would have liked statehood. He’s a friend of mine. He’s a great guy. He’s the great one.”

• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.