President-elect Donald Trump’s joke during a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about Canada becoming the 51st state of the U.S. has both Canadians and Americans divided.
The comment came about amid a dinner between the two leaders in Florida on Friday, where Trudeau met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The surprise intimate meeting took place only days after Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian products entering into the United States unless Canada makes an effort to increase border security.
But Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who was with Trudeau at the Mar-a-Lago meeting insists that Trump’s words were clearly just a joke, and not part of any sort of serious plan to seize Canada.
“In a three-hour social evening at the president’s residence in Florida on a long weekend of American Thanksgiving, the conversation was going to be light-hearted. The president was telling jokes, the president was teasing us, it was, of course, in no way a serious comment,” LeBlanc said, as first-reported by the CBC.
“The fact that there’s a warm, cordial relationship between the two leaders and the president is able to joke like that, we think, is a positive thing,” he added.
Trump posted on Truth Social after the impromptu gathering, calling his meeting with Trudeau “very productive” and highlighting some of the issues he hopes both nations can come together and address.
“…we discussed many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address, like the Fentanyl and Drug Crisis that has decimated so many lives as a result of Illegal Immigration, Fair Trade Deals that do not jeopardize American Workers, and the massive Trade Deficit the U.S. has with Canada,” Trump wrote on the platform.
“Prime Minister Trudeau has made a commitment to work with us to end this terrible devastation of U.S. Families,” he added.
Trudeau also thanked Trump for the dinner on X, saying he looks forward to the work that the two can do together.
On Wednesday evening, Trump posted an AI-generated photo on social media of him looking out atop of a vast mountain with a Canadian flag by his side.
The photo has since garnered thousands of likes and comments on Instagram, with many Canadians divided on their views if Canada was to join the U.S.
“Lower taxes, First Amendment, Second Amendment, stronger dollar, ability to live anywhere in North America! Yes, I am 100% okay with it,” one X user commented.
“As a Canadian voter, absolutely NOT! You couldn’t pay me to live in the U.S.,” another user on X said.
Trump’s words have even caught the attention of former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who says he’d be all for the extension if the U.S. gains some of Canada’s perks.
“Trump has suggested that Canada become the 51st state in our union. Does that mean that we can adopt the Canadian health care system and guarantee health care to all, lower the cost of prescription drugs, and spend 50% less per capita on health care? I’m all for it,” he posted on X.
