(LifeSiteNews) — U.S. President Donald Trump recently resumed his theme of urging Canada to become America’s 51st state, prompting dismissal from Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
Since Trump’s return to the presidency, the prospect of the United States annexing its northern neighbor (something Canadians overwhelmingly oppose) has become a staple of Trump’s speeches and social media posts.
With his attention largely preoccupied by the Iran War and domestic battles such as his proposed ballroom addition to the White House, Canada has largely disappeared from Trump’s rhetorical repertoire in recent months.
On May 27, however, he revived the subject with a Truth Social post claiming that the price for Canada to join his proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system would be $61 billion “if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State.”
“They are considering the offer!” he claimed, which Canadian leaders have consistently denied.
On June 1, Trump again posted to Truth Social, this time simply a link to a Bloomberg report on Canada’s economic struggles and the words “51st State!”
The Western Standard reported that Poilievre, who lost the Prime Minister’s office to Liberal leader Mark Carney last year in an outcome complicated by U.S.-Canada tensions, was blunt in his reaction.
“It’s ridiculous, and it’s never going to happen,” he said. “We have to make sure that we don’t allow ridiculous comments like that to distract us from the very real suffering that Canadians are experiencing as a result of Liberal policies here at home.”
“The families who can’t afford food, the one in four Canadians who are living in food insecurity,” Poilievre continued. “They don’t want us to be distracted by a foolish comment like that. They want us to focus on reversing the Liberal policies that have made them hungry in the first place.”
While few believe the United States would actually make an attempt to annex Canada, nobody seems to agree on an explanation for why Trump persists with the bizarre recurring theme. Theories range from a simple running joke to evidence of cognitive decline to Trump’s colorful way of asserting his view of the country’s economic relation to America in trade and tariff negotiations.