On January 6, President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his proposal that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States, just hours after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his plans to resign.
President-elect Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – Photo: AFP
“Many people in Canada love being the 51st state. The United States cannot continue to tolerate the massive trade deficits and subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knows this and has resigned,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social social network, after Trudeau announced he would resign as prime minister and leader of Canada’s ruling party.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he will resign after 9 years in power – Video source: AFP
The US President-elect added: “If Canada were to merge with the United States, there would be no tariffs, tariffs would be reduced, and they would be completely safe from the threat of Russian and Chinese ships constantly circling them. Together, what a great country that would be!”
Sharing with Fox News in December 2024, sources said that Mr. Trump personally mentioned the idea of merger to Prime Minister Trudeau when they met at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, USA in late November 2024.
Trudeau flew to Florida to meet Trump unannounced after Trump threatened to impose high tariffs on Canadian goods. Trump said that once he takes office, he would impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada until illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the United States are stopped.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on January 6 that he would step down in the coming months after nine years in power, as the Canadian leader bowed to pressure from lawmakers concerned about the upcoming election results of the ruling Liberal Party, according to Reuters news agency.
“I intend to resign as leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister of Canada, once the party has chosen a new leader,” the 53-year-old leader told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa.
Prime Minister Trudeau announced his plans to resign just two weeks before Donald Trump is sworn in as US president. According to CBC, Trudeau’s decision to resign raises questions about how the Canadian government will handle any negotiations with the Trump administration.
According to AFP, after more than nine years in power, support for Mr. Trudeau within the ruling Liberal Party began to decline in 2024 due to increasingly harsh public criticism of the rising cost of living.
The resignation announcement comes as Trudeau comes under pressure from within his Liberal Party, with recent polls suggesting the party will suffer a heavy defeat in the next election. Trudeau finds himself unlikely to be the best choice in that election.
Trudeau’s decision opens the door to a contest for the Liberal leadership, which will also see him chosen as the party’s candidate to face Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
