Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump has shared on social media what appears to be an
AI-generated image of himself posing on a mountain with the Canadian flag, after joking with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week that Canada should become
America’s 51st state.Trump posted the image on his Truth Social account Dec. 3 with a caption that simply reads “Oh Canada!” The image was posted the day after it was reported by Fox News that Trump had suggested to Trudeau, apparently jokingly, that if Canada could not survive 25 percent tariffs despite its $100 billion trade surplus, it should become the 51st U.S. state.
The incoming president reportedly made the comment while Trudeau was visiting Trump’s Florida residence to discuss issues like trade and border security.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc later said the comments were made as a joke, and there is a “warm, cordial relationship” between Trump and Trudeau. He added that the president was “telling jokes” and that it was “in no way a serious comment.” Trump has threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico if they do not tackle their illegal immigration and drug smuggling issues. Trudeau reportedly told Trump at the dinner that these tariffs would “kill” the Canadian economy.
Canada’s ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman, who was at the dinner,
described the meeting as “social,” “jovial,” and “fun.”
“What really matters is that the prime minister and the president got together at the president’s request, just days after he issued his tweet around the tariffs,” she said in a CPAC interview.
“They reconnected, they had a good moment to kind of talk about a range of issues, but obviously most particularly around the border and the motivation that the president had put forward for that potential imposition of tariffs.”
Canadian officials stressed that the northern border is “vastly different than the Mexican border” because there is very little trafficking of fentanyl from Canada to the U.S., and less than 1 percent of people who illegally crossed into the United States in 2023 did so through Canada, she
said.Trump and Trudeau “got along well,” Hillman said, adding that the only way the meeting could have been more successful was if the president-elect had agreed not to impose any tariffs.
“But there was no realistic expectation of that,” she said.
The Canadian government has acted to bolster security at the border with new equipment purchases, which include helicopters and drones, since Trump threatened the tariffs.
Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has said the purchases are being fast-tracked because the situation is considered to be a “national emergency.”
