Trump Brought Up the Idea of Canada Becoming ’51st State’ During Call With Carney: Report

During a phone call on March 28 between U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump reportedly brought up the idea of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state, CBC News reported on Thursday, citing sources who spoke with Radio-Canada.

The sources, familiar with the details of the conversation, revealed that the issue of Canadian sovereignty was addressed early in the discussion. Trump reportedly explained the potential benefits of Canada joining the U.S., which led to a tense exchange between the two leaders.

One source described the exchange to Radio-Canada as “not easy,” with Carney reportedly saying, “We’ll agree to disagree on that one,” after Trump elaborated on his proposal, per CBC.

However, this account contrasts with Carney’s comments during a news conference, which suggested that Trump had abandoned his expansionist rhetoric during the conversation, while insisting that the U.S. president “respected Canada’s sovereignty today both in his private and public comments.”

According to the CBC report, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office did not directly dispute the claim that Trump raised the notion of Canada as the 51st state, but she did deny Carney’s reported remark that the two had agreed to disagree on the issue.

“No, the prime minister didn’t say this to President Trump, and he was always clear on the fact that the possibility that Canada could be part of the U.S. is not on the table and never will be,” CBC quoted the spokesperson as saying in a statement.

The statement further mentioned that as the two leaders dealt with ongoing crises, Carney was reportedly working on his plan to address the “trade war launched by Trump.”

Mark Carney, in a subsequent interview during a campaign stop in Port Moody, B.C., acknowledged that Trump did bring up the idea of the 51st state during their phone call, the report said.  Carney, however, stressed that “the president says lots of things,” and that the essence of their conversation centred around the need for both nations to meet as sovereign entities to renegotiate their economic and security partnerships.

Carney was also asked if Trump had respected Canada’s sovereignty during the call, the report further said, adding that his response was clear: “He did, he absolutely did.” He further noted that Trump had referred to him as “prime minister” and not as “governor,” a term that Trump had used to describe Canada’s previous prime minister, Justin Trudeau.

“The president has certain things in his mind that he reverts back to all the time,” Carney remarked, according to CBC. “We had discussions as sovereign nations, we agreed as sovereign nations that these negotiations will begin after the election on Monday.”

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