President Donald Trump's suggestion that Canada should become the 51st state in the U.S. is for more than effect and laughs, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.
Trump, who has delayed imposing a 25% tariff on imports from north of the border, has mentioned the U.S. taking control of Canada publicly and on his Truth Social platform.
"We pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars to SUBSIDIZE Canada. Why? There is no reason. We don't need anything they have. We have unlimited Energy, should make our own Cars, and have more Lumber than we can ever use. Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country. Harsh but true!" Trump wrote Sunday in a post on Truth Social.
"Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State. Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada — AND NO TARIFFS!"
Speaking to a gathering of company executives and business leaders in Toronto, Trudeau said Trump's desire to annex Canada "is a real thing."
"I suggest that not only does the Trump administration know how many critical minerals we have but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state," Trudeau said, the Toronto Star reported.
"They're very aware of our resources, of what we have, and they very much want to be able to benefit from those. But Mr. Trump has it in mind that one of the easiest ways of doing that is absorbing our country. And it is a real thing."
CBC News also reported Friday about Trudeau's "real thing" comment, which inadvertently was broadcast after media had been ordered out of the session where the prime minister opened an economic summit.
During his official remarks, Trudeau stressed the need to diversify trade internationally.
"We are always going to both benefit and be challenged by trade with the United States," he said, according to CBC News. "It's always going to be a big chunk of our economy."
Unifor President Lana Payne, who leads Canada's largest private sector union, said many of the business leaders at the summit complained that Trump's tariff threats and talk of annexation are scaring away investment.
"What was most poignant for me are the folks that were reiterating what we have been seeing on the ground floor in real time, and that is the threat of the tariffs themselves are already having an impact on our economy, on Canadian workplaces and on Canadian workers, and that is something that we are all going to have to grapple with, because the threats are not going to end, and in fact, they may escalate before we get to a place where we get a resolution," Payne said, according to the Star.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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