U.S. President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on December 16, 2024.Brian Snyder/Reuters
Donald Trump is repeating his contention that the U.S. should annex Canada, ratcheting up his rhetoric amid threats of a continental trade war.
In a social media post at 3:23 a.m. ET Wednesday, the U.S. president-elect also repeated his false assertion that the U.S. has a US$100-billion trade deficit with Canada.
“No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year? Makes no sense! Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State,” Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!!”
While there is no serious movement in either country for Canada to join the U.S., Mr. Trump has now made variations of the comment several times, seemingly to needle Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Mr. Trump is threatening to impose tariffs of 25 per cent on all Canadian and Mexican goods entering the U.S. when he takes office on Jan. 20. He has said the levies are meant to force the countries to stop migrants and fentanyl crossing their borders into the U.S.
But Mr. Trump has also repeatedly brought up the trade deficit, which most economists dismiss as unimportant but he views as a scorecard for economic success.
According to U.S. figures, the country’s trade deficit with Canada in 2022, the last year for which it has published numbers, was US$53.5-billion on more than US$900-billion worth of trade.
That deficit is mostly related to crude oil, of which the U.S. imports more than 1.6 billion barrels a year from Canada to make up for its own shortages. Imposing a tariff on it would likely significantly drive up gasoline prices for U.S. consumers.
Opinion: What Trump is doing to Trudeau is a tried-and-true humiliation tactic
Mr. Trump first made his “51st state” comment to Mr. Trudeau during their dinner at Mar-a-Lago late last month, saying that Mr. Trudeau could serve as Canada’s governor. The Canadian government dismissed the line as a joke.
The president-elect has subsequently referenced it several more times in Truth Social posts. Most recently, he used it on Monday in reaction to Chrystia Freeland’s abrupt resignation as deputy prime minister and finance minister.
“The Great State of Canada is stunned as the Finance Minister resigns, or was fired, from her position by Governor Justin Trudeau,” he wrote, before deriding Ms. Freeland as “totally toxic” and “not at all conducive to making deals.”
Ms. Freeland was the point-person on trade negotiations during Mr. Trudeau’s first term, and both Mr. Trump and some of his advisers have previously expressed irritation with her for refusing to make concessions.
