Canadian Leaders Not Too Happy After Trump Posts Map Showing Country as Part of U.S.
“Trump’s delphic tweet kicked off a storm of annexation bantz. Canadian reactions have been a mixture of resignation, relief, and 1812 bravado.”
It may have begun as a taunt against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but President-elect Donald Trump appears to like the idea of Canada becoming America’s 51st state. A lot.
After Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, Trump took to Truth Social to write:
Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned. If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!
On Tuesday night, Trump went even further. He shared a revised map of the United States, including Canada, with the caption, “Oh Canada!”
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 8, 2025
He then posted a second map of Canada and the U.S. as one country with the label “United States” written in bold black letters across the image.
At a Mar-a-Lago news conference earlier in the day, Trump told reporters, “Canada and the United States. That would really be something. … They should be a state.”
Trudeau, who will step down as soon as a replacement is named, threw cold water on the idea in an X post, writing, “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.”
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.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 7, 2025
Elon Musk responded to Trudeau’s tweet with his customary wit. He wrote: “Girl, you’re not the governor of Canada anymore, so doesn’t matter what you say.”
Girl, you’re not the governor of Canada anymore, so doesn’t matter what you say
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 8, 2025
Others responded:
Bruh, with your leadership skills Canada lookin like a participation trophy version of a country. Even your snowballs got pronouns and need a safe space
— RoastMaster9000 (@RoastM4ster9000) January 7, 2025
Well, it’s too late. Welcome to the USA. pic.twitter.com/jBuiuQB2l3
— The Gas Stove 🔥 (@TheGasStovee) January 7, 2025
One Twitter user asked how a “militaristic, traditional country” became “so gay.”
1/?
Trump’s delphic tweet kicked off a storm of annexation bantz. Canadian reactions have been a mixture of resignation, relief, and 1812 bravado. This seems like a good time to review Canada’s military history. How did a militaristic, traditional country become so… pic.twitter.com/f9GHzXs49Z
— John Carter (@martianwyrdlord) December 7, 2024
Even though the soon-to-be former Prime Minister was largely mocked on social media, he isn’t alone in his sentiments.
Perhaps the most important opinion is that of Pierre Poilievre, the leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, who is likely to become the country’s next prime minister. In a Tuesday post on X, he wrote, “Canada will never be the 51st state. Period. We are a great and independent country.”
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…
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) January 7, 2025
Below, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly signals her opposition:
President-elect Trump’s comments show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country.
Our economy is strong.
Our people are strong.
We will never back down in the face of threats.
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) January 7, 2025
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, “You know something, to the president I’ll make him a counteroffer … How about if we buy Alaska and throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time? … [Trump] may be joking, but under my watch, that will never ever happen.” [I don’t think Trump is joking.]
I’ve read similar versions of Ford’s remarks online in recent days.
Others see the idea of Canada joining the United States as sheer madness. One X user dismissed Trump’s latest provocation as “unhinged.” Another noted that it was “not funny. This redrawn map of the U.S.-Canada border only serves to expose Trump as an imbecile who possesses the maturity of a petulant six-year-old child.”
Newsweek considers the prospect of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state to be “remote at best” and expressed concern that Trump’s “escalating rhetoric could signal a coming decline in U.S.-Canada relations.”
While none of us know how this will end, I have learned never to underestimate Trump. Although the idea seems preposterous initially, it makes sense in many ways. And we have yet to hear from Canadian citizens who may embrace the concept of U.S. citizenship, particularly protection under the Second Amendment, lower taxes, and shorter wait times for medical care.
In remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Trump ruled out using military force to annex Canada. He said he would use “economic force” only. “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,” he added.
We’ll see where this goes.
Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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Comments
Let’s start with Greenland. Getting rid of a tiny percentage of Biden’s illegals would save enough money to easily take care of the 60K people living there in a style to which they are not accustomed.
Matt Walch suggested that we take all the people living in Canada and move them to Greenland and all the people living in Greenland, move them to Canada. It’s not the worst Idea I’ve heard this week.
ugh- like we need another gun hating blue state?
Exactly the question I was asking myself.
Take alberta, leave the rest. Alberta is the only part that’s actually productive
Yukon and sliver of Northwest Territory along with Alberta….. Alaska to Florida in one great swath. B.C. can merge with Washington… no difference at all. Anything east of Manitoba is suspect. Biggest problem… “First Nation” (think BLM of the North).
Canada is dying. Not the brokest nation in history … that is the USA… but standard of living is going down in Canada.
That’s what the wife said. She also threw out the idea of taking BC because it is so nice and giving Vancouver to China.
Trudeau is right. Canada won’t be a state. We don’t want them voting. Let’s make them a territory.
IF we were stupid enough to annex them, they’d be 10 states (and 20 senators). That’s not a joke, that’s insanity.
Better to make them a National Park, with no senators or representatices. Just a large cold version of Disneyland, with the mounties acting as tour guides or park rangers.
You mean Dudley Doright, Nell, and Mr. Whiplash?
If the Canadians really wanted to have fun with this, rather than take it humorouslessly, they should have fired back with the counter offer, like ‘How about the US becoming the United States of Southern Canada?! Good friendly banter never hurt anyone. I’d think it hilarious
Trudeau is so upset he’s gonna have the Royal U.S. Mounted Police look into it.
“humorouslessly”
Congratulations. I think you just invented a new word.
The last new word I invented was “irritainment,” but then I learned someone else had beat me to it.
That’s a perfectly cromulant word.
I had to look that one up! For others who have never heard the word before, it means “acceptable or adequate.” Ex:” The continental breakfast was perfectly cromulent.”
It was invented by The Simpsons.
Never misunderestimate Mr. Kellogg.
They take it seriously because:
1. Liberals don’t have a sense of humor.
2. Canada has been the vassal of the Brits for a long part of their history, only becoming fully independent in 1982 (if I understand the process). Well within living memory.
3. Canadians know their country is weak and if someone actually decided to conquer them, there’s not much they could actually do about it.
Every Canadian with a sense of humor has been driven out by the humorless scolds who infest their government. Thankfully, we have provided them sanctuary in the event their country regains some small measure of sanity and they can return.
Canada became independent in 1931, when the Statute of Westminster Act came into effect. The only wrinkle was that there was no mechanism in the Canadian constitution for amending it. The constitution was an act of the UK Parliament, so if the Canadians wanted to amend it they’d send a request to the UK, which would automatically amend the act, and thereby the constitution. In 1982 they finally used this mechanism to add a provision for amending it themselves.
Meanwhile Australia was an even more interesting situation. It could already amend its own constitution, even before independence. In 1931 it was offered independence but didn’t want it. Instead it was given the right to declare independence whenever it liked. It did so in 1942, backdated to Sep-3-1939, the day it entered WW2. But the states didn’t become independent. At their own request, each state remained a UK colony, so Australia was a fully independent country made up of six UK colonies! The federal government was not subject to the UK in any way, but the state governments were. The states finally became independent in 1986.
Know any funny Canadians?
Funny as in ha ha, or funny as in peculiar?
NorM Macdonald. John candy. Uh…
Any funny living Canadians? I mean, I don’t wanna speak ill of the dead, but…
The remaining Second City cast and Austin Powers.
Someone did and offered to annex Alaska and Minnesota
Just return all the money we give you.
What money would that be?
You know what’s amazing?
Trump descended the escalator and made his announcement what 10 years ago?
And people still don’t get it. The tweet is never the issue, the tweet is direction to what he wants to discuss.
He doesn’t want to annex Canada or make it the 51st state.
He wants to be rid of Lil’ Castro and to encourage Canadians to be proud of their country once again.
If you’re still confused about understanding Trump, I strongly urge you to pick up Scott Adams book “Win Bigly”. He explains it perfectly.
My sense is that he’s running purposely ridiculous ideas up the flagpole, so that when he runs what he really wants up that same pole later, it will look centrist in comparison. That’s a trick Democrats do all the time, and a guy who understands the art of the deal understands that.
Exactly, Henry.
In fact, that’s exactly what Adams points out in his book.
Once you have possession of the “Trump Decoder Ring” it all makes sense. He’s not always right but he’s right more than he is wrong.
Bingo. I think he’s serious about Greenland and the Panama Canal, but that he’s just trolling Canada.
“Ontario Premier Doug Ford said … How about if we buy Alaska and throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time?”
OMG, do it, do it, before he realizes he’s paying for the Somalians TWICE.
Unbelievable how seriously and humorlessly these Canuck progressives are taking Trump and Elon.
SMH. They’re like a bunch of 12-year-old middle school girls.
Minnesota and MInneapolis?!
He should offer to sell them Washington DC, Chicago, NYC, and Los Angeles.
Trump is a world class troll delighting in yanking the chain of people who take themselves too seriously. The more they squall the more he will go after them. No one seriously thinks Canada will become a State, Canadians I talk to are all laughing at this. Poilievre had the best response which is why he is going to be the next PM.
And that day also can’t come soon enough.
And thsn this:
https://x.com/TexasRepublic71/status/1877189975734636805
The Canadians should thank their lucky stars that Americans are, by and large, nice guys. Most large Canadian urban centers are within 100 miles of the border, the entire active duty Canadian armed forces could fit within a Big Ten football stadium with 40,000 seats to spare and is scattered all over the country, and the Canadian populace has largely been disarmed. Bottom line: a “Barbarossa”-style invasion from the south could easily occupy the parts of Canada that mattered within days–maybe even as little as a long holiday weekend. Yep, with malice toward none and charity to all, Canadians really should show a bit more gratitude to its southern neighbor for its civility and forbearance.
Be careful. The Canadian Armed Forces are small compared to, just about any other country’s but are very earnest. Most of the things forbidden by the Geneva Convention (which the Canadians seem to belive is actually a checklist) are there because of Canada’s actions in the World Wars. Their unofficial motto is, “It isn’t a war crime the first time.”
“Most large Canadian urban centers are within 100 miles of the border”
Indeed. I remember reading an interesting statistic that went something like, “95% of Canada’s population lives south of Presque Isle, Maine.”
We need Canada as U.S. States like we need another Biden. Stupid idea. They are 95% liberal morons. We already have plenty of those.
NorM Macdonald. John candy. Uh…
Bravo for using the same punchline twice in the same thread.
Not a state. Ten states.
Ten states without the parliamentary system that keeps leftists in charge.
And why stop with Canada? There are other ‘americas’ just waiting to be a part of the US.
Lighten up you poutine, backbacon eatin b•******s
So I grew up in Canada and have family up there but have lived most of my life in the US. Anyone I’ve talked to there kind of this reflexive and immediate reaction of disgust. So at least an initial offering I think will be pretty unpopular and dismissed outright by most people.
So I see two options. One it’s just a bully tactic by Trump to drive attention onto the issues he care about addressing with Canada in military spending, arctic access, trade deficits and border security. Or he may be serious about a long term financial attack on Canada until they don’t see a better alternative then joining the US.
Canada being as large as it is as a matter of governance would likely require 10 states. So you would be talking about introducing 10 left leaning states who do not have a similar gun culture to the US. The questions on common law for determining what happens to say Canadian supreme court decisions that have been fundamental to Canadian/business and culture? Does that still apply in Canada only?
Assuming cultural and logistical issues are resolvable is the US really in a position to absorb Canada. Culturally there is a significant divide within the US and adding in a resentful Canada that was forced into the union would be de-stabilizing. Additionally Canada has significant economic issues. The conservative leader mentioned that GDP for Ontario Canada’s richest province is lower then that of the US’s lowest state. Salaries to housing costs are so out of whack when I looked at moving back the US housing market was a dream by comparison.
I think if a merger were to happen both sides would not actually be happy with it and both countries would be weaker for it in the long run.
We’re just kidding. You couldn’t pay us to take Canada.
Well let’s not be hasty, maybe we could work out a trade for some States for a few Provinces. That could work out if it was actually possible, it isn’t, but I could see a few advantageous trades. The real problem is that the big gov’t wanna be tyrants in both Nations would pull out the stops to prevent it b/c the joining of the more small gov’t/individual liberty portions of Canada and those areas of the USA would then be out from under the thumb of the big gov’t, over regulation types. Nothing the wanna be tyrants hate worse than to be told they don’t have power over others.
I’m fairly positive this is just Trump’s way of getting people to agitate over what a clusterf* a political partnership would be, so that when he proposes an economic partnership, which is what he really wants, people will mop their foreheads and hastily agree,
I think Canadian politicians are afraid to hold a plebiscite:
A. We stay Canadian.
B. We petition to join the United States.
Doesn’t each Province have the ability to vote for independence? I seem to recall that being granted as a halfway measure decades ago when Quebec was was being unruly. If true then each Province could vote to go Indy then petition to join the USA.
Trump is just trolling. He loves to do that.
I’m not happy about Trump’s comment, either, even if this is the third time I voted for the man. It is important for the leader of the Free World (a concept that needs dusting off, especially given the rise of a Communist China, which knows full well that it is the world’s last, best hope for 20th century totalitarianism and jackboot nationalism) to show proper respect for important allies. That goes for how he would treat Denmark, too.
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