Poll suggests 13% of Canadians think Canada should become the 51st American state

By Kyle Duggan and Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press on December 10, 2024.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive to take part in a plenary session at the NATO Summit in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Trump referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the governor of the "Great State of Canada," doubling down on taunting comments the U.S. president-elect reportedly made during a recent dinner between the two leaders.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA – President-elect Donald Trump is calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the governor of the “Great State of Canada” on his social media account.

Trump said in a taunting post to Truth Social early Tuesday it was a “pleasure to have dinner” with Trudeau at his Mar-a-Lago estate and that he looks forward to seeing the “governor again soon” to talk tariffs and trade, the “results of which will be truly spectacular for all.”

Turns out, some Canadians think that’s not such a bad idea.

A new Leger poll suggests 13 per cent of Canadians would like the country to become the next U.S. state.

The demographic breakdowns show there’s higher support among men, at 19 per cent, compared with only seven per cent of women.

Conservative party supporters came in at 21 per cent, while one in 10 Liberal voters said they were in favour of the idea. The People’s Party of Canada showed the highest level of endorsement among the federal parties, at 25 per cent, while the NDP was the lowest, at six per cent.

Among the overall population, 82 per cent opposed to the idea, the highest of which comes from Atlantic provinces, women and Canadians over the age of 55.

Leger polled 1,520 people between Dec. 6 and Dec. 9. The poll does not have a margin of error because online polls aren’t considered truly random samples.

Asked about Trump’s comments ahead of a federal cabinet meeting Tuesday, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said “it sounds like we’re living in an episode of South Park.”

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc attended that surprise dinner at Mar-a-Lago last month, which came soon after the president-elect threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports unless Canada beefs up its border.

LeBlanc has said Trump was only teasing when at the dinner he suggested he could make Canada the 51st U.S. State.

“The president was telling jokes,” LeBlanc told reporters a week ago. “The president was teasing us. It was, of course, on that issue in no way a serious comment.”

Trump later shared a seemingly AI-generated image of himself standing on a mountain ridge with a Canadian flag planted in it, with the caption “Oh Canada!”

Trudeau has not matched that tone, warning in a talk on Monday that such steep tariffs would be devastating for the Canadian economy and describing Trump’s approach as an attempt to destabilize negotiating partners by introducing a bit of chaos.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024.