Trump takes fresh shot at 'Governor Trudeau,' says Canada ‘serious contender’ to be 51st state
'Canada's going to have to start paying up'
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U.S. President Donald Trump says Canada is a “serious contender” to become America’s 51st state as he launched into a fresh round of digs aimed at outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Addressing reporters in the Oval Office in Washington, Trump said relations between the U.S. and Canada are going to be “very interesting.”
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Trump takes fresh shot at 'Governor Trudeau,' says Canada ‘serious contender’ to be 51st state Back to video
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“I think Canada is going to be a very serious contender to be our 51st state,” he said, mockingly calling the prime minister “Governor Trudeau.”
“It sets up so good for them,” he continued, pushing the idea of Canada becoming part of the U.S. “The people would pay much less tax than they’re paying right now and they’d have perfect military protection.”
Trump then floated the possibility that the U.S. could withhold military protection for Canada.
“They don’t have any military protection,” the president told reporters. “You take a look at what’s going on out there. You have Russian ships, you have China ships, you have Chinese ships. You have lot of ships out there. People are in danger. This is a different world today. It’s a different world, but they need our protection.”
After announcing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican exports to the U.S. would go into effect earlier this month, Trump gave both countries a 30-day reprieve. But Thursday, Trump repeated his claims that America is paying “subsidies” to Canada.
“Canada has been very bad to us on trade, but now Canada is going to have to start paying up … Why would we pay $200 billion a year in subsidies to Canada when they’re not a state? You do that for a state, but you don’t do that for somebody else’s country,” he said.
“You know, we just don’t need their product and yet they survive off of the fact that we do 95% of what they do,” Trump said. “Canada is absolutely, I say it and sometimes people smile, and sometimes they say great idea. Taxes would go down and their security would go up greatly.”
Trump’s latest comments come as he threatened the prospect of implementing 50 to 100% tariffs on Canadian-made cars.
In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, Trump accused Canada of stealing automotive jobs from America.
“If you look at Canada, Canada has a very big car industry. They stole it from us. They stole it because our people were asleep at the wheel,” Trump said. “If we don’t make a deal with Canada, we’re going to put a big tariff on cars. Could be 50 or 100% because we don’t want their cars. We want to make the cars in Detroit.”
Elsewhere in his interview with Fox, Trump was asked if his desire to make Canada a 51st state is “a real thing.”
“Yeah it is,” Trump replied. “I think Canada would be much better off being a 51st state because we lose $200 billion with Canada and I’m not going to let that happen. It’s too much. I asked Trudeau that question. I said, ‘Why would anybody want to lose $200 billion? Why would I, as president, say, ‘I’m going to give you $200 billion a year?’ You’re Canada, you’re a different country. I love Canada, I have so many friends in Canada, you can’t count them. Wayne Gretzky, I love Wayne Gretzky, I love the people. I love their traditions. I love their ice hockey. But when are we paying $200 billion — essentially in subsidies — to Canada? Now, if they’re a 51st state, I don’t mind doing it.”
Trump reiterated his repeated claims that Canadians would have “much better” health care, lower taxes “and they’d have military protection like nobody can have.”
On Thursday, the president also order global reciprocal tariffs on goods entering the U.S.
“The numbers are going to be very fair but staggering. They’re going to be large,” Trump told reporters as he signed a memorandum drafting up the new tariffs. “We had a very unfair system to us.”
Trump also announced plans to take aim at Canada over its digital services taxes on U.S. tech giants.
The tax, which targets companies like Google, Facebook and Netflix, was implemented last summer and will add billions to Ottawa’s coffers. But a White House fact sheet called the levy unfair, saying that Canada and France use the tax “to collect over $500 million per year from American companies.”
The latest comes as Trump has vowed to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports coming to the United States effective March 12.
“Essentially, we’re putting on a 25% tariff, without exception, on all aluminum and all steel, and it’s going to mean a lot of businesses are going to be opening in the United States,” Trump said Monday as he signed the measures in the Oval Office.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Trudeau said Canada “will be equally unequivocal in our response.”
“Canada will respond as appropriate in a calibrated but extremely strong way, regardless of what the U.S. moves forward with,” said Trudeau.
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