"I was in Mar-a-Lago over the weekend," Kevin O'Leary told Fox News Channel's "America's Newsroom" program. "I had a few moments with the President-elect, and I asked him 'Why not stand down on Canada for the next couple of months while they elect a new leader like you were elected with a four-year mandate?’”
O'Leary, a native of Montreal, predicted that Pierre Poilievre is leading what amounts to a red sweep of Canada, one that is going to "wipe out the liberal party completely." This means the U.S. and Canada will have two leaders with four-year mandates, so, in O'Leary's mind, let the negotiations begin.
"The United States can no longer suffer the massive trade deficits and subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat," President-elect Trump said in recent days. "Justin Trudeau knew this and resigned. If Canada merged with the United States, there would be no tariffs."
Asked about this on America's Newsroom, O'Leary said the trade deficit is primarily on energy.
"Alberta alone does about $185 billion of energy in the United States. We are the largest partners together on earth, and there's a lot of good things about that relationship."
Canadians warm to Trump ideas
O'Leary went on to say that Canadian people are intrigued with Trump's suggestions, not to give up their sovereignty but to a stronger economic union. O'Leary offered a few suggestions such as combining the currency, maybe giving up a couple of seats at the Bank of Canada to the Federal Reserve and eliminating tariffs on milk and dairy.
"There's a lot of opportunities between the two countries, and I know Trump knows that," O'Leary continued. "Now, whether my request fell on deaf ears, I don't know, but I would very much like to see just a pause while we get the new guy in place, and we go to work, because I'm an investor on both sides."
