Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump has once again called for Canada to become the 51st state following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement that he will resign.
Trump also said that many Canadians “love being the 51st state,” and that merging with the United States would mean Canada would have no tariffs, its taxes would “go way down,” and it would be militarily secure from the “threat of the Russian and Chinese ships that are constantly surrounding them.”
Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 that he intended to resign as prime minister once the Liberal Party has chosen a replacement. He also met with Governor General Mary Simon to ask for her to prorogue Parliament, which she accepted, bringing an end to the current parliamentary session until March 24.
The prime minister has been facing calls to step down for several weeks from regional caucuses, as the party suffers from poor polling numbers and several byelection losses. The calls for Trudeau to resign grew louder after former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned from cabinet on Dec. 16, the same day she was set to introduce the fall economic statement.
He first made reference to it while Trudeau was visiting Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 29, saying if Canada could not survive without having a trade surplus with the United States, then it should become a state.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who had attended the dinner as public safety minister at that time, later said the president had made the comments in a joking manner, and that there was “cheerful banter between the prime minister” and Trump.
Trump has said he will impose a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian imports if the country does not take adequate steps to improve border security and stop the flow of drugs and illegal immigrants. The federal government has subsequently announced measures to strengthen the Canada–U.S. border, such as a $1.3 billion border plan to create a new North American task force targeting organized crime and drug trafficking, and increased funding for helicopters, drones, and surveillance towers.
During a press conference on Jan. 6, Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded to Trump’s latest comments on Canada merging with the United States by saying he would “never be for that” while he leads the province. “I‘ll make him a counter-offer. How about if we buy Alaska, and we’ll throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time?” he joked.
