Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Wednesday that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s assertions that Canada should become the 51st state should be taken seriously, after he initially dismissed them as a joke.

Canada is looking at putting retaliatory tariffs if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian products.

Some Liberal MPs are pressing Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc to change his mind and run for the party leadership.

Longtime cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc will not be running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as head of the Liberals, he announced in a statement posted to social media on Wednesday.

In the wake of Trudeau’s announcement Monday that he intends to resign as prime minister, LeBlanc had been encouraged to run by Liberal MPs Mark Gerretsen and Joël Lightbound, who declared in separate media interviews that they would be favourable to LeBlanc’s candidacy.

On top of his duties as Minister of Finance, LeBlanc is Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and was tasked by Mr. Trudeau to manage border relations with the U.S. Its president-elect, Donald Trump, is threatening 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican exports after his inauguration Jan. 20.

OTTAWA--Canada's Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he won't seek the Liberal Party leadership because his focus must remain on fighting against the risk of "unjust" tariffs from the incoming Trump administration.

Canada considers retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products, including orange juice and steel, in response to Trump’s tariff threats. Officials warn his rhetoric undermines U.S.-Canada relations, jeopardizing vital trade and economic ties.

Canadian official Dominic LeBlanc on Wednesday criticized President-elect Trump’s “51st state” remarks, saying they were no longer funny. “The joke is over,” LeBlanc, Canada’s finance and

A 23-year-old hiker who survived 13 days lost in the Australian wilderness after randomly finding two granola bars has thanked his rescuers for enduring "tough conditions" to find him.