Media reported on Trump's threats to make Canada the 51st state of the U.S.

Canada may become the 51st state of the United States, if Ottawa fails to solve the problem of illegal migration and drug smuggling. This was stated by US President-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Fox News TV channel reports citing sources.

It is specified that at the talks in Trump's residence Mar-a-Lago (Florida) last week, the Republican told Trudeau that already on the day of his inauguration on January 20, 2025 will introduce import duties of 25% on all Canadian goods if Ottawa does not manage to fundamentally change the situation with migration across the Canadian border. In addition, he threatened to reduce the trade deficit, which, according to the politician, is currently about $100 billion.

In turn, the Canadian Prime Minister pointed out to Trump that such measures would kill the Canadian economy, to which the latter "suggested Trudeau make Canada the 51st state, which caused the Prime Minister and others to laugh nervously." The US president-elect also added that Trudeau could become the governor of the 51st American state.

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Earlier, on November 25, it was reported that the Canadian authorities are ready to increase defense spending in order to more quickly reach a NATO-compliant level of military performance with the cooperation of the Trump administration.

Before that, on November 6, Trudeau held a telephone conversation with Trump, who won the election of the American leader, congratulated the president-elect on his second term and discussed with him bilateral relations between Canada and the United States.