TORONTO, Dec 10, (AP): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that Americans "are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive" and said he will retaliate if Donald Trump goes ahead with them. Trump later responded by calling Canada a state and Trudeau the governor.

Speaking at an event put on by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Trudeau also said dealing with Trump will be "a little more challenging” than the last time because Trump’s team is coming in with a much clearer set of ideas of what they want to do right away than after his first election win in 2016. The US president-elect has threatened to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the US from Canada and Mexico unless they stem the flow of migrants and drugs.

"Trump got elected on a commitment to make life better and more affordable for Americans, and I think people south of the border are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive," Trudeau said. On the weekend, Trump appeared in an interview with NBC’s "Meet the Press,” where the president-elect said he can’t guarantee that his promised tariffs on key US foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers.

"Let’s not kid ourselves in any way, shape or form, 25% tariffs on everything going to the United States would be devastating for the Canadian economy," Trudeau said. "It would also, however, mean real hardship for Americans as well. Americans import 65% of their crude oil from Canada, significant amounts of electricity. Just about all the natural gas exported from Canada goes to the United States.

They rely on us for steel and aluminum. They rely on us for a range of agriculture imports. All of those things would get more expensive.” Trump seemed to respond to Trudeau's comments with a post on social media late Monday, in which he noted Trudeau's recent dinner at Mar-a-Lago where some said Trump joked about Canada becoming the 51st state.