Trump dangles Golden Dome freebie to Canada with catch of 51st state

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A golden opportunity awaits Canada if it becomes the 51st state, according to U.S. President Donald Trump.

After he last week detailed his ambitious idea to build a shield to protect the U.S. from threats including ballistic missiles, hypersonics and advanced cruise missiles, Trump on Tuesday night said the system would cost Canada US$61 billion — before he added his special offer to Canucks.

“I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer!” read a post on Trump’s Truth Social account.

The president has said the project would cost $175 billion overall. Congress, meanwhile, is seeking $25 billion to begin work on the endeavour.

However, the Congressional Budget Office found the U.S. may have to spend as much as $542 billion over 20 years to fully develop and launch the space-based interceptors.

Prime Minister Mark Carney last week confirmed that Canada was considering joining the U.S. on the project. At the time, he declined to place a price tag on it and said the talks were at an early stage.

The traditionally close ties between Canada and the U.S. have been tested by Trump, who has launched a trade war and regularly called for Canada to become the 51st state.

Carney is adamant that Canada will remain a sovereign nation.

“The prime minister has been clear at every opportunity, including in his conversations with President Trump, that Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and it will remain one,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement to CTV News.

Canada and the U.S. have had a joint air defence system since the 1950s, known as the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or Norad.

The technology for Trump’s dome plan is unproven, particularly using space-based interceptors to knock down incoming ballistic missiles.

The president’s Truth Social post came shortly after King Charles gave the speech from the throne to open Parliament in which he reiterated Canada’s sovereignty, saying, “The true north is indeed strong and free.”

He also spoke on Canada’s relationship with the U.S., saying the countries “have begun defining a new economic and security relationship … to deliver transformational benefits for both sovereign nations.”

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