TORONTO — U.S. President Donald Trump told a White House crowd Wednesday that Canadian leaders “were very bad” and are “being taught a lesson,” after saying Canada has taken advantage of the United States for years.He made the remarks during a Hispanic Heritage Month reception, veering from a prepared list of economic claims into auto plants, tariffs and the renaming of Lake Ontario. Trump said the United States was “stupidly run” for decades because other countries were allowed to build cars and sell them into the American market.“They came from Japan. They came from South Korea. They came from Mexico. They came from Canada,” he said. “Canada has taken advantage of us for so many years, the worst of any country.”Trump drew a line between Canadians and their governments, and named Wayne Gretzky as one of the Canadians he loves.“I love the Canadian people. So many friends. Wayne Gretzky, I love the Great One. I love him and his incredible wife. I love the Canadian people,” he said. “But the leaders have taken advantage of our stupid leadership for many, many years. They felt emboldened and they charge our farmers 400% tariffs and they act like they're totally innocent. They're not. They were very bad, but now they're being taught a lesson.”Trump did not mention Prime Minister Mark Carney or Premier Doug Ford..Trump then pointed to the lake as proof the lesson is already underway.“In fact, we just named a certain lake. Lake America Ontario. So Lake Ontario is now named, and it actually passed,” he said. “But I think even cooler than that was the Gulf. I hated to do this to the Mexicans. We loved the Mexican, but the Gulf of Mexico is now the Gulf of America. Is that okay?”He added that “there could be a few people in the room that don't love that one, but what the hell?”The remarks sit on top of a U.S. import ban, already in effect, covering Canadian goods that include alcohol, dairy, motorcycles and molasses. Ontario auto plants, dairy shipments and liquor sales are among the sectors exposed to the measures he described as the lesson. Trump has spent the past week calling Canadian officials entitled and saying they call Washington “all the time,” while repeating that a deal is possible only on his terms.
