Donald Trump repeats desire for Canada to become 51st state as country heads to the polls

Canadians are currently heading to the polls to vote in the federal election which will see either incumbent prime minister Mark Carney or Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre win. Unsurprisingly, US president Donald Trump has used the opportunity to promote his desire to see Canada become America’s ‘51st state’.

Taking to his Truth Social platform on Monday, the Republican wished Canadians “good luck” with their voting, but not without making it clear who he wants to see as PM.

He continued: “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. State [sic] of the United States of America.

“No more artificially drawn line from many years ago. Look how beautiful this land mass would be. Free access with NO BORDER. ALL POSITIVES WITH NO NEGATIVES. IT WAS MEANT TO BE!

“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!”

Trump's latest intervention has been slammed on social media, with one top tweet on Twitter/X calling for Canada to expel its US ambassador:

Others, meanwhile, questioned Trump's assertion that it was "all positives with no negatives", given Canada enjoys free healthcare, unlike the US:

And unfortunately for Trump, all four leaders of Canada’s major political parties have also criticised his remarks, and have shown no desire to make his dream a reality.

What have Canada’s top political figures said about Trump’s ‘51st state’ comments?

Mark CarneyDave Chan / AFP via Getty

Mark Carney – who you might recognise as being the former governor of the Bank of England – has been vocal in his opposition to the US president’s ideas, even taking a swipe at Trump with the help of actor Mike Myers in a campaign ad.

“There will always be a Canada,” he says in the video.

Before that, the Liberal Party leader and successor to Justin Trudeau warned America would “destroy our way of life” if Canada became part of the US, adding that the country “will never ever be part of America in any way, shape or form”.

He’s one of two frontrunners in the election, with the other being Pierre Poilievre.

Pierre Poilievre Dave Chan / AFP via Getty

Despite being a favourite among conservative Americans, he too has said Canada will “never be the 51st state”, speaking at rallies with ‘Canada First’ branding on the lectern.

“We will bear any burden and pay any price to protect the sovereignty and independence of our country,” Poilievre added.

The other two big names are Yves-François Blanchet of Bloc Québécois (who has branded Trump’s threat to annex Canada as nonsense), and Jagmeet Singh of the New Democratic Party (who has said Canada will never be the 51st state “not now, not ever”).

Polls began opening at 7am local time, and close at different times across Canada’s six time zones.

Newfoundland and Labrador is the eastern-most province, and they’ll close voting for their seven seats at 7pm Eastern Time (12am BST), while polls in British Columbia, with its 43 seats, will close at 10pm ET (or 3am BST).

Why not read…

• Trump accused of ‘fascism’ over attack on left-wing 'disruptors'
• '60 Minutes' boss quits amid Trump pressure, raising free press fears

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.