Trump said that Canada would be better off being a U.S. state.
President Donald Trump said in a new interview that he’s serious when he talks of wanting Canada to be a part of the United States.
Trump was asked by Fox News host Bret Baier in an interview that aired ahead of the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 about comments made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the issue on Feb. 7. In remarks caught on a hot mic, Trudeau told attendees at the Canada-U.S. Economic Summit in Toronto that Trump’s wish for Canada to become a part of the United States “is a real thing.”
Baier asked Trump if it is indeed a “real thing” as Trudeau suggests, to which the president responded, “Yeah, it is.”
“I think Canada would be much better off being the 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada. And I’m not going to let that happen,” Trump said. “Why are we paying $200 billion a year, essentially a subsidy to Canada?”
Trump appeared to be referring to how the United States buys more products from Canada than Canada buys from the United States, according to remarks he made earlier Sunday. The trade deficit in goods with Canada was $63.3 billion in 2024, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has said in recent weeks that Canada would be better off being a U.S. state rather than its own country, in part because it would be more secure from a military standpoint. He has said that merging the countries, if it happens, would take place through “economic force” rather than military force.
Canadian officials have reacted negatively to Trump’s comments.
“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X at one point. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has also said Canada would never be a U.S. state.
