US President Joe Biden praised Canadian outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him a "friend", and said that the alliance between the US and Canada is stronger because of Trudeau. 

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Recounting multiple issues the two leaders worked on together, Biden said, "proud to call him my friend."

“The last time I visited Ottawa, I said that the United States chooses to link our future with Canada because we know that we’ll find no better ally, no closer partner, and no steadier friend. The same can be said of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,” Biden said in a Tuesday morning statement. 

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This comes amid US President-elect Donald Trump's reiterating his proposal to make Canada the 51st state of the US, and further escalating the issue on Tuesday, as he threatened to use economic force to join US-Canada.

Trudeau was the first leader Biden spoke with as he took control of the US administration in 2021. 

The US president further noted that together, the leaders have tackled some of the toughest issues faced by the US and Canada in decades "from the COVID-19 pandemic, to climate change, to the scourge of fentanyl."

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"And we have made generational investments to strengthen our supply chains and rebuild our economies from the bottom up and middle out—establishing North America as the most economically competitive region in the world," he added. 

He further commended Trudeau for leading Canada with “commitment, optimism and strategic vision.”

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He said that the US-Canada alliance is stronger because of him, stressing that the American and Canadian people are safer because of Trudeau. 

"And the world is better off because of him. I am proud to call him my friend. And I will be forever grateful for his partnership and leadership," Biden said. 

(With inputs from agencies)