Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau believes President Donald Trump’s public statements toward making Canada the ’51st state’ should be taken seriously.
Trump has repeatedly labeled Canada the ’51st state’ as he discusses levying heavy tariffs on the country to pressure them into putting more resources into the country’s border with the U.S.
“I suggest that not only does the Trump administration know how many critical minerals we have, but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state,” Trudeau said to a gathering of business leaders in Toronto.
According to the New York Times, the media was asked to leave the room when the comments were made, but the CBC and Toronto Star could overhear his remarks and record them.
“They’re very aware of our resources,” Trudeau added, “of what we have, and they very much want to be able to benefit from those.”
“But Mr. Trump has it in mind that one of the easiest ways of doing that is absorbing our country. And it is a real thing.”
Canada is a critical producer of copper, nickel, cobalt, and other rare minerals. It is also the world’s fifth-largest energy producer.
The U.S. economy is interlinked with Canada, with states like New York depending on the nation for energy.
“What I’d like to see— Canada become our 51st state,” Trump said earlier this week. “We don’t need them. As a state, it’s different. As a state, it’s much different. And there are no tariffs,” Trump said. “So I’d love to see that. Some people say that would be a long shot. If people wanted to play the game right, it would be 100% certain that they’d become a state. But a lot of people don’t like to play the game. Because they don’t have a threshold of pain.”
Trump halted the tariffs on Canada for a 30-day period later that day on the condition that Canada help the United States secure its shared border and later work out a broader economic deal.
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Trudeau addressed the immigration issue with business leaders as well, saying they must address the “North American fentanyl problem” delicately.
“We need to be very deliberate about how we continue to engage closely with the United States to make the case and demonstrate that Canada is responsible for a tiny part of the North American fentanyl problem,’’ Trudeau told the business leaders, “but that we are also bitterly touched by this tragedy.”
