US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to suggest he was willing to use “economic force” to fulfill his territorial expansionist ideas of annexing Canada as the 51st US state.
Since winning the presidential election in November, Trump has repeatedly referred to Canada as the “51st state” and claimed that most Canadians would “love” to become part of the US.
On Tuesday, the president-elect suggested that the US could apply economic pressure to absorb its northern neighbor, whose goods he previously threatened to hit with 25% tariffs. “You get rid of that artificially-drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security,” Trump said.
BREAKING: President Trump just signaled that he is prepared to use the U.S. military to obtain Greenland and retake the Panama Canal
— George (@BehizyTweets) January 7, 2025
Reporter: "Can you assure the world that as you try to get control of these areas, you are not going to use military or economic coercion?"… pic.twitter.com/MhAq6CJTvg
On the same day, he posted maps on his Truth Social platform of how the US and Canada would look as a single state.
Trump expressed concerns about Canada’s military and economy, claiming the US subsidizes and protects Canada with no commensurate benefit.
The US and Canada have a significant trade relationship, with the US importing $614.3 billion worth of goods from Canada in 2022. Trump’s proposals may impact this relationship.
Canadian Uninterested
However, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed this idea, saying “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.”
Other Canadian leaders holding firm to their cherished sovereignty, flatly rejected Trump’s expansionist ideas.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre stated, “Canada will never be the 51st state. Period.” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh warned Trump, “Your attacks will hurt jobs on both sides of the border… You come for Canadians’ jobs, Americans will pay a price.“
“There isn’t a chance in hell Canada would become part of the United States.”
But Ontario province Premier Doug Ford responded to Donald Trump defiantly, saying “Canada is ‘the greatest country in the world’ and there is no way it will fall under the rule of Washington.“
“To the president, I’ll make him a counter offer. How about if we buy Alaska?”
— David Beaudoin (@DavidABeaudoin) January 6, 2025
You need bulldogs like Doug Ford sometimes. pic.twitter.com/sTJy8v7pfN
Ford jokingly offered a counterproposal: “I will make him [Trump] a counteroffer. How about if we buy Alaska and throw in Minnesota and [its main city] Minneapolis at the same time?” He said he knew it was an unrealistic proposal.
Ford stressed the importance of Canada-US trade relations, saying, “We [Canada] ship down 4.3 million barrels of oil every single day. We send electricity down to the U.S., critical minerals… why disrupt that?” he asked Trump.
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