Canadian Defence Minister Says Trump’s 51st State Talk Not a ‘Real Threat’

Minister of National Defence Bill Blair participates in a question and answer period at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute conference on NORAD Modernization, in Ottawa, on May 1, 2024. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Defence Minister Bill Blair said U.S. President Donald Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state is “concerning” but that it doesn’t pose a “real threat.”

“I do not believe that that represents a real threat to us,” Blair told reporters in Brussels on Feb. 12. Blair is in the Belgian capital to attend meetings of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and NATO.

“Certainly we’re concerned about those remarks,” Blair added, while saying Canada’s allies have been assured “we’re prepared to stand up for our country.”

Trump has repeatedly said since being elected in November 2024 that Canada should become part of the United States. While he said he wouldn’t use military force to absorb Canada, he mentioned using “economic force.”

Several sets of U.S. tariffs are currently hanging over Canada: a 25 percent broad tariff on imports and a 10 percent tariff on energy linked to border and drug trafficking concerns; a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum; and additional potential tariffs coming in April after a U.S. trade review.

Blair’s comment on Trump’s 51st state talk comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week on a hot mic that he views Trump’s comments as a “real thing.” The prime minister made the comment while speaking behind closed doors to business leaders attending the Canada-U.S. Economic Summit.

“Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing,” Trudeau reportedly said when discussing U.S. interest in Canadian critical minerals.

Trump was asked to comment on Trudeau’s remarks during a Fox News interview aired on Feb. 10. When asked whether absorbing Canada is a “real thing,” Trump responded, “Yeah it is.”

“I think Canada would be much better off being a 51st state,” he said.

Not a ‘Joke’

Trump’s 51st state comments had initially been viewed as a “joke” by cabinet. Trudeau was asked by reporters while in Brussels what made him “switch” his perspective.

“I don’t think there’s a switch. I think, as I’ve said unequivocally from the beginning, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada will ever be the 51st state,” he said.

Reporters also asked Blair to explain the divergence between his stance of not seeing a threat and Trudeau considering the Trump’s proposal a “real thing.” The defence minister repeated that he’s “concerned” about what Trump has said.

“That is not acceptable to us, and we’ve earned that right as a nation to be very clear to anyone who would threaten our security and our nation, that Canada is prepared to defend itself,” he said.

In the Fox News interview, Trump suggested Canada doesn’t have the capacity to defend itself, with Russian and Chinese ships “sailing all over” Canada. “We’re going to stop that,” he said.

Trump also criticized Canada’s defence spending, saying it’s “in default” with NATO, paying the “lowest number of any country” in the military alliance.

Canada was among eight countries in NATO in 2024 which didn’t meet the alliance’s guideline of spending 2 percent of GDP on defence. At 1.37 percent, Canada is above Spain (1.28 percent), Slovenia (1.29 percent), Luxembourg (1.29 percent), and Belgium (1.30 percent). Poland leads the pack with 4.12 percent, followed by Estonia at 3.43 percent, and the U.S. at 3.38 percent.

Trump said Canada is not investing in its military because it believes the United States will automatically come to its defence.

“We can’t do that anymore, but as a state, it all works great,” Trump told Fox News. “As another country, I’m not going to do it.”

Blair reacted to Trump’s comments by pointing to Canada’s longstanding involvement in continental defence by way of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), in which Canada has pledged to invest over $38 billion towards its modernization.

Blair to Meet With US Counterpart

Blair will be able to discuss Canada’s continental defence posture and role in NATO with his U.S. counterpart this week in his first meeting with the new U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth laid out the Trump administration’s vision for the future of NATO and the war in Ukraine during an address at the opening of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on Feb. 12.

Hegseth said going back to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an “unrealistic objective” and that the United States doesn’t view Ukraine’s NATO membership as a “realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.”

The United States also remains committed to NATO “full stop,” Hegseth said, but it will “no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency.”

Hegseth added he backs Trump’s call to raise the NATO spending guideline to 5 percent of GDP on defence. Canada’s plan is currently to reach 2 percent by 2032.

“We’re working really hard to accelerate our spending to get to the 2 percent threshold that Canada has committed to, and I believe that that is achievable, and we’re making very, very significant progress,” Blair said in response to the U.S. call, while noting the United States is not currently spending 5 percent of GDP on defence.