On his Truth social network, on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, Mr. Trump wrote that it makes “no sense” for the United States to “subsidize” Canada to the tune of more than $100 million per year.
“Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st state. They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it’s an excellent idea,” argued the man who will return to the White House on January 20.
Mr. Trump first raised the idea of making Canada the 51st U.S. state in late November, during a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his team.
In the following days, Trudeau government ministers attempted to downplay Mr. Trump’s proposal. “The president told jokes. The president was teasing us. It was of course not a serious comment,” said the Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc, who was present at the dinner.
Since then, Mr. Trump has multiplied the publications on social networks in which he describes Canada as being the 51st American state. The president-elect even went so far as to call Justin Trudeau “governor of the great state of Canada.”
Mr. Trump wrote Wednesday that his idea appeals to “many Canadians.” A survey carried out by the Léger firm revealed that this proposal has the support of 13% of Canadians, while on the other hand, 82% of respondents to the survey spoke out against this idea.
Léger surveyed 1,520 people between December 6 and 9. The survey has no margin of error because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.
Mr. Trump, who threatens to impose tariffs of 25% on Canadian products exported to the United States, also commented on the resounding resignation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, which shook Mr. Trudeau’s leadership in start of the week.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump wrote on Truth that Ms. Freeland had an attitude that was “totally toxic and not at all conducive to making deals that benefit the very unhappy citizens of Canada.”
“We won’t get bored,” insisted the president-designate.
