Summary
Donald Trump suggested Canada could become the U.S.’s “51st state,” claiming it would benefit Canadians through lower taxes and military protection.
The remark follows tensions over Trump’s proposed 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, which shocked Canadian leaders, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who likened it to betrayal.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed the annexation talk as unserious but unveiled a $1 billion border security plan to address U.S. concerns.
The escalating rhetoric, including insults from Trump ally Elon Musk, highlights strained Canada-U.S. relations ahead of Trump’s second term.
Well, gerrymandering is still a thing, but anyway it would be like adding another California to the US, electorally. The populations are pretty close. And actually, the less-populous provinces are a little more conservative (the truckers protesting covid restrictions were canadians, remember), so actually maybe each individual province being added as a state would work in Trump’s favor.
Not that he’s thought any of that through, of course.