United States President Donald Trump has renewed his controversial suggestion that Canada could become the country’s 51st state, citing trade disputes and what he described as unfair treatment of the US by its northern neighbour.
Trump made the remarks on Wednesday during a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, where he listed several grievances against Canada, including tariffs on American goods and car manufacturers relocating production to the United States.
“Canada treats us very badly. They always have. Not anymore. It’s a whole different ball game now that Trump is in town,” he said as quoted by CTV News.
The US president accused Canada of exploiting the American economy through tariffs on dairy products, claiming the restrictions applied to “anything past two bottles (of milk).”
“They’ll end up being the 51st state, because that’s the only way it works,” Trump said. “We don’t need them, but they need us.”
He also questioned why the United States should lose billions of dollars supporting a country he said was not part of America.
Trump further compared his remarks about Canada to his interest in Greenland, saying, “They’ll be doing something just like Greenland.”
He added that the prospect “just adds to our beautiful plate,” referring to the United States, before declaring: “Our plate’s getting larger all the time.”
The president also brought up the idea of renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” while discussing his longstanding complaints about Canada.
Trump’s latest comments come amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa, with Canadian officials repeatedly rejecting suggestions that the country could become part of the United States.
In September, following Canada’s announcement of additional retaliatory tariffs on American goods, British Columbia Premier David Eby said the province would install signs at US border crossings declaring that it would “never the 51st state.”
Lutnick also made a similar remark about Ontario last month, saying the province would be the “last out of our 51st states.” His comment followed Carney’s call for the Trump administration to take trade negotiations seriously.
Trump revived his proposal in June, when Canada faced economic challenges that some economists said met the definition of a technical recession. The suggestion drew criticism from Canadian officials across the country.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded at the time by saying the US president was “back on his high horse” and insisting that Canadian sovereignty was not for sale.
“I can tell President Trump that will never, ever happen.”
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