Donald Trump says Canada becoming '51st state' the 'only way it works'

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Another week, another threat being made against Canadian sovereignty by Donald Trump and his allies.

The U.S. president once again referred to Canada as the “51st state” during a campaign rally on Wednesday in Bullhead City, Ariz., except this time he suggested that the idea was an eventuality amid a trade war with the federal government.

“They’ll end up being the 51st state because it’s the only way it works,” Trump said during the rally. “We don’t need them, but they need us. And why should we be losing $80, $90, $100 billion a year to support a country that isn’t one of us.

“So they’ll be doing something just like Greenland. You’ve heard about Greenland: ‘Oh, it’s terrible, it’s so terrible what President Trump has done.'”

‘Plate’s getting larger all the time’

Trump made the comment after signing a Greenland security deal last month with Denmark, whose territories include the Arctic island. He has long expressed a desire to control Greenland and its resources, a dispute that sparked concern earlier this year among the countries’ NATO allies that the U.S. could attempt a takeover.

During Wednesday’s rally, Trump referred to Greenland as the latest addition to “our beautiful plate” while also mentioning Venezuela, where the U.S. launched military strikes that captured president Nicolas Maduro. The U.S. then signed a deal to increase American access to Venezuela’s oil reserves.

“Our plate’s getting larger all the time,” Trump said. “How about Venezuela? We’re doing pretty good there, too?”

As for Canada, Trump continued to recite his grievances about the country’s dairy and auto industries and his complaint that the federal government “treats us very badly” in terms of trade.

He has also in the past railed against a perceived trade imbalance between the countries, a lack of parity between the Canadian and U.S. currencies and countermeasures that the federal and provincial governments have put in place after the White House began imposing blanket tariffs shortly after Trump began his second term in office.

“Not anymore, it’s a whole different ballgame now that Trump is in town,” he said. “Canada ripped us off with tariffs.”

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Increasing acrimony in trade relationship

Some American officials have become increasingly hostile when mentioning Canada since efforts to mend the trade rift broke down in August, leaving tariffs, counter-tariffs and outright import bans in its wake.

Peter Navarro, a longtime Trump trade adviser, told Canadian lobbyists to “get the hell out of our country” late last month during a conference in Washington, D.C., adding that “Canada, economically, is like a rowboat; we’re an aircraft carrier. How’s that gonna end?”

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, meanwhile, took a shot at outspoken Premier Doug Ford during an appearance on CNBC in early September, saying that “Ontario, with the great city of Toronto, would be last out of our 51st states.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who headed the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, also waded into the geopolitical fracas last week in the wake of the Quebec election, saying La Belle Province, Saskatchewan and Alberta should separate from Canada.

The federal government has responded with measures that include seeking closer ties to the European Union with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcoming Prime Minister Mark Carney to Strasbourg, France, last month to propose that Canada become an “associate member” of the bloc.

And in British Columbia, the government announced that its welcome signs at the U.S. border would include the phrase “strong, proud and NEVER the 51st state. Sorry.”