7 times Trump reignited ’51st state’ rhetoric, suggesting ‘that’s the only way it works’ for Canada

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Canada’s technical recession

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In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote “51st state!” with a link to a Bloomberg report about the technical recession. Hoekstra then shared the post on his X account just hours before the  Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief trade negotiator Janice Charette were due to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington, D.C.

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‘Join our country and you get it for free’

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In September 2025, Trump referenced his desire for Canada to become the 51st state during his address to U.S. military officials in Virginia.

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In the speech, he claimed work on the “Golden Dome Missile Defence Shield” was proceeding and that Canada had recently contacted him to say “they want to be a part of it.”

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“To which I said, ‘Well, why don’t you just join our country? You become the 51st state and you get it for free,” he suggested.

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Election Day comments

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“Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st,” the post read.

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He added: “America can no longer subsidize Canada with the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year that we have been spending in the past. It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!”

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“You’ve talked about acquiring Greenland, taking control of the Panama Canal, making Canada the 51st state,” Cortellessa said. “Maybe you’re trolling a little bit on that one. I don’t know.”

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Trump’s answer was short: “Actually, no, I’m not.”

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Super Bowl interview

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Trump’s comments in the TIME interview doubled down on statements he made earlier that month in an interview that aired during the Super Bowl pre-show.

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When asked whether his talk of annexing Canada is “a real thing,” Trump told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier: “Yeah, it is.”

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“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,” he said. “Why are we paying $200 billion a year, essentially a subsidy to Canada?”

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Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. loses hundreds of billions of dollars a year to Canada during his second term as president. But according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada was US$48.3 billion in 2025, a 21 percent decrease ($12.9 billion) over 2024 and far less than Trump has claimed.