U.S. President Donald Trump has reignited his provocative idea that Canada should join the United States as its 51st state — comments he tied to defence cooperation and ongoing trade disputes.
Speaking Tuesday to senior military officials in Virginia, Trump said Canada could be covered by the U.S.’s new Golden Dome missile defence system if it joined the United States.
“Canada called me a couple of weeks ago. They want to be part of it. To which I said, well, why don’t you just join our country? Become the 51st state and you get it for free,” Trump said.
Trump admitted he wasn’t sure how seriously Canadian officials took the suggestion, but added: “To me, joining the two countries makes a lot of sense.”
Carney pushes back
Prime Minister Mark Carney has already swatted down the idea in past exchanges with Trump. During their first face-to-face meeting in May, Carney quipped:
“As a property developer, he should know some places are never for sale. Canada is not for sale, ever.”
Carney later told reporters he privately asked Trump to stop with the “51st state” taunts, repeating emphatically: “Never, never, never, never, never.”
Trump’s renewed rhetoric comes as his administration pursues higher tariffs on Canadian lumber and furniture, moves that Ottawa says are straining bilateral relations.
Defence backdrop
Trump’s latest remarks were also linked to his ambitious Golden Dome defence system, aimed at countering missiles, drones, and aerial threats. He has previously said Canada would need to contribute $71 billion US to be part of it, unless it became part of the United States.
Carney, speaking at the G7 in June, suggested Canada may instead explore an extension of NORAD, the long-standing binational air defence alliance, rather than Trump’s separate initiative.
Mixed signals from Washington
Just days ago, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra downplayed the talk, insisting:
“That kind of rhetoric is in the past. I’ve got no direction to continue a dialogue on the 51st state. It hasn’t been in play for months.”
Trump, however, ended his remarks with a characteristically open-ended line:
“Never say never. It takes two to tango.”
