No ‘snowball’s chance in hell’ of Canada becoming 51st state: Trudeau

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press on January 7, 2025.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Evan Vucci

WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there “isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States” after president-elect Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to use “economic force” to compel Canada to join with the U.S.

Trudeau posted on social media that workers and communities in both countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.

In his first news conference since the certification of his election win, Trump escalated recent rhetoric around making Canada the 51st state by musing about getting rid of the international border through “economic force.”

Shortly after his election win in November Trump threatened to slam a 25 per cent import tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico.

Trudeau travelled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida days later to try and counter that threat but Trump today says he’s still going ahead with the plan.

The president-elect also criticized Canada’s military spending and trade with the U.S.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2025.