US President-elect Donald Trump has stirred an array of emotions across Canada when he floated the idea of Canada becoming part of US. Some have shrugged off Trump’s suggestion Canada as an old joke or mere posturing, while most of the Canadians dismiss it as a bad political idea. According to a study by the Angus Reid Institute, 6% of Canadians say they want Canada to join the United States.
Here is what Canadian leaders and experts said:
There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell: Justin Trudeau
There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States. Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.
Canada will never be the 51st state. Period: Pierre Poilievre
Canada will never be the 51st state. Period. We are a great and independent country. We are the best friend to the U.S. We spent billions of dollars and hundreds of lives helping Americans retaliate against Al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks. We supply the U.S. with billions of dollars of high-quality and totally reliable energy well below market prices. We buy hundreds of billions of dollars of American goods. Our weak and pathetic NDP-Liberal government has failed to make these obvious points. I will fight for Canada. When I am Prime Minister, we will rebuild our military and take back control of the border to secure both Canada and the U.S. We will take back control of our Arctic to keep Russia and China out. We will axe taxes, slash red tape and rapidly green-light massive resource projects to bring home paycheques and production to our country. In other words, we will put Canada First.
Cut the crap: Jagmeet Singh
Cut the crap, Donald. No Canadian wants to join you. We are proud Canadians. Proud of the way we take care of each other and defend our nation. Your attacks will hurt jobs on both sides of the border. You come for Canadians’ jobs, Americans will pay a price.
Canada not for sale: Doug Ford
Our country is not for sale — it will never be for sale But I think we work together for an incredible trade deal. With a new administration set to take office in the White House, our government has an ambitious plan to build up Fortress Am-Can to usher in a new American and Canadian century defined by unprecedented growth, job creation and prosperity. We can only do so by working together and respecting each other.
We are not becoming the 51st state: David Eby
Canadians are proud. I’m proud to be Canadian. We are not becoming the 51st state. And I think that one of the recognitions of both Canadians and Americans is that we are different places. We have different priorities and yet we’re good neighbours and friends and in many cases family and that there’s no benefit that comes from hurting both sides of the border.
As insulting as it is deeply flawed: Werner Antweiler, UBC
Trump’s proposal to use economic coercion to the effect of making Canada the U.S.’s 51st state is as insulting as it is deeply flawed economically, politically, and legally. First, economic integration is already close, and Trump is doing his best to undermine this economic integration by threatening tariffs—much against the spirit of our existing free trade agreement. Politically, Leger Marketing conducted a poll in December 2024 that showed, unsurprisingly, little support for a merger—just 13 per cent of Canadians favoured the idea. And legally, while Canadian provinces can secede under Canada’s constitution, there is no mechanism for Canada to accede to the U.S. short of a constitutional amendment, for which the hurdles are enormous.
It is Trump’s dated imperialist rhetoric: Max Cameron, UBC
The best guarantee Canada will never join the U.S. is Trump himself. His statements are unserious, but that doesn’t change the fact that we should take them seriously. In an asymmetrical relationship, the weak cannot ignore threats by the strong. I expect Canadians will set aside their differences and, with a single voice, reject Trump’s dated imperialist rhetoric.
Canadians are three times more likely to support Kamala Harris: Terri Givens, UBC
The main concern should be focusing on a clear and direct response to Trump. The president-elect has been trying to bully Canada’s leadership so that they will be more likely to make concessions around trade and defense issues. This will likely continue, but the GOP as a party has nothing to gain from having Canada as a 51st state that would likely be more liberal, and adding another set of representatives and a senator would hurt the party. Polling showed that Canadians were three times more likely to support Kamala Harris than Trump in last year’s election.”
It is not just a joke but a form of bullying: Stewart Prest, UBC
Canadians should take seriously president-elect Trump’s musings about the possibility that Canada become the 51st state, including [Tuesday’s] musings about using economic force to annex Canada. It is not just a joke but a form of bullying intended, at a minimum, to place Canada at a negotiating disadvantage. As with all bullying, it will continue until the target stands up to it. Accordingly, while we will have to wait for the days after the president-elect’s inauguration to see whether the threats are enacted, Canadian leaders ought to act now to make clear that our sovereignty is non-negotiable, and that Canada will defend itself and its prosperity integrity with all means at our disposal.”
