Donald Trump may be the funniest president we have ever had, but sometimes it’s hard to tell whether or not he is serious. One of the most notorious examples of this are his repeated declarations that Canada should become the fifty-first state of the United States. At first, the entire world assumed that Trump was simply needling Canada’s far-left Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his country’s weakness and dependence on its neighbor to the south. But now Trudeau has been caught on an open mic saying that Trump was completely serious. He wants to add Canada to the United States of America.
Fox News reported Saturday that “in a closed-door meeting with Canadian business and labor leaders, Trudeau reportedly affirmed that Trump’s ambitious aims of annexation are ‘a real thing.’” Trudeau added: "Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing. In my conversations with him on …"
At that point, however, “the microphone cut out,” and we’re apparently lucky that we got even that much, for “the news media had been asked to leave the room before Trudeau delivered his comments, but CBC and The Toronto Star were able to hear them and record them.”
Trudeau offered his own spin on why Trump is pursuing this idea, saying: "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. They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have, and they very much want to be able to benefit from those."
Gil McGowan of the Alberta Federation of Labor, who was present at the meeting, agreed: "Yes, I can confirm that Trudeau said his assessment is that what Trump really wants is not action on fentanyl or immigration or even the trade deficit, what he really wants is to either dominate Canada or take it outright. Tariffs are a tactic towards that end."
That may indeed be all there is to it, but McGowan, as well as the callow and vapid authoritarian Trudeau, would have done well also to consider the possibility that Trump is concerned about Chinese encroachment in Canada. Canada’s Global News reported in Oct. 2024 that “Canadian diplomats have quietly but frequently raising concerns over foreign interference and surveillance with their Chinese counterparts over the past two years, newly-released documents show. A document published by the foreign interference commission Friday shows a total of 48 ‘representations’ to People’s Republic of China (PRC) officials since September 2022. The general topic of ‘foreign interference’ has been raised 31 times in total, including four formal diplomatic letters.”
Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland and regaining control of the Panama Canal appears to be motivated in large part by concern about China’s increasing influence in both areas, and the possibility that a hostile power could end up encircling the U.S. The same considerations are likely at play in his interest in acquiring Canada.
Related: Trudeau Tells Trump Canada Wouldn’t Survive His Tariff, and Trump’s Response Is Priceless
Trump himself has also made it clear that also has the health of the American economy in mind, as he wrote on Feb. 2: "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! Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State. Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada – AND NO TARIFFS!"
To be sure, many areas of Canada, at least outside of Quebec, are very much like areas of the U.S. There is not much of anything. that divides Americans and Canadians culturally. If Canada did become part of the United States of America, there wouldn’t be much of an adjustment for either side, although one wonders if Trump has reckoned with the fact that this union would adds millions of leftists to our voter rolls. After all, Justin Trudeau has been prime minister for nearly ten years for a reason. Canadians voting in American elections could guarantee a Democrat majority for generations, right up until the nation was completely destroyed.
Maybe if Canada stood on its own feet economically and repelled Chinese influence, Trump would stop talking about making it the 51st state. Or…maybe not.
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