Islam Times - Trump Tells Trudeau Canada to Become 51st US State If It Doesn’t Stop Migration

Trump Tells Trudeau Canada to Become 51st US State If It Doesn’t Stop Migration

Islam Times - US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the country could become the 51st US state if Ottawa fails to solve the problem of illegal migration and drug trafficking, Fox News reported citing sources.

According to the TV channel, during talks held last week at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago residence (Florida), Trump told Trudeau that on his inauguration day, January 20, 2025, he would impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian exports if Ottawa fails to curtail illegal immigration across the Canadian border into the US and reduce the trade deficit, which, according to him, is already close to 100 billion dollars, TASS reported.

Trudeau, in turn, told the future US president that such measures would kill the Canadian economy, to which Trump responded that Canada could "just become the 51st US state." According to Fox News, the comment prompted the Canadian delegation, including the prime minister, to "laugh nervously."

One of the meeting's participants jokingly said that if that happened, Canada would become a "deep-blue state that would probably elect liberals and leftists." Trump, in turn, suggested dividing the country into two states, one of which would be liberal and the other conservative. In addition, the US president-elect said that Trudeau could become the governor of this 51st US state.

According to Fox News, the meeting between the Canadian prime minister and Trump lasted almost three hours.

The United States, Mexico and Canada are bound by a trilateral treaty (USMCA) that calls for a free trade zone between the countries. However, on November 25, Trump announced that on his first day in office, January 20, 2025, he would impose a 25% tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico due to illegal immigration and drug smuggling.

According to The Wall Street Journal, this threat shocked Canadian politicians and businessmen. Since the US accounts for about three-quarters of Canada's total exports, tariff-free access to the US market is essential for Ottawa's economic growth.