Trump threatens ‘economic force’ to make Canada 51st state

It no longer sounds like a joke.

US President-elect Donald Trump escalated his remarks about making Canada part of the US during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Tuesday. And he reiterated that he intends to put “substantial” tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico.

Asked if he would use military force to annex Canada, he replied “no — economic force. Because Canada and the United States, that would really be something. 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 — don’t forget, we basically protect Canada.”

Trump claimed the US is subsidizing Canada to the tune of $200 billion a year, an apparent reference to the US trade deficit and possible other factors.

The total US trade deficit in goods and services with Canada was $40.6 billion in 2023, according to US Census Bureau data. It’s driven by energy exports: the US buys more than 4 million barrels a day of Canadian crude oil during some months.

Trump’s latest provocation prompted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to respond on X: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.” More than 80 per cent of Canadians are opposed to the idea, according to a recent poll.

Members of Trudeau’s government had previously played off the 51st state remarks as a joke.

Trump said the US doesn’t need “anything” that Canada produces.

He said he’d rather make cars in Detroit instead of relying on the highly-integrated continental auto supply chain, and not buy Canadian lumber or dairy. When discussing lumber, Trump said he could use an executive order to “un-restrict” it, implying the US could ramp up domestic supply.

“They should be a state, that’s what I told Trudeau when he came down,” Trump said, an apparent reference to a dinner meeting at Mar-a-Lago between him and the Canadian prime minister in late November.

The US currently relies on Canada for a number of key commodities. In response to threats from Trump of 25 per cent tariffs, officials in Ottawa have been examining the use of export taxes on items such as uranium, oil and potash as potential responses in case there’s a trade war, Bloomberg News reported last month.

Canada is the largest external supplier of oil to the US, its uranium is the biggest foreign source of fuel for US nuclear power plants, and its potash is a huge source of fertilizer for American farms.

The Canadian dollar has dropped versus the greenback since Trump made a threat on Nov. 25 to put the tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The loonie was down 0.19 per cent to C$1.4360 per US dollar as of 4:29 p.m. in New York.

Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, saying he doesn’t have enough support from within his Liberal Party to lead it into an election this year.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly posted on social media that Canada “will never back down in the face of threats.” She’s considered a potential contender to succeed Trudeau.

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Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, whom polls say is the odds-on favorite to win the upcoming election, previously said Canada would “never” be a US state.

Asked about those comments on Tuesday, Trump said: “Then maybe he won’t win. But maybe he will. Listen, I don’t care what he says.”

Poilievre reiterated his comments in social media posts later on Tuesday, and emphasized Canada’s support of US security, its supply of cheap energy, and its consumption of American products, adding that the “weak and pathetic” government had “failed to make these obvious points.”

“We will put Canada First,” he said.

Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s left-leaning New Democratic Party, also hit back: “No Canadian wants to join you.”