Trump joked Canada could avoid tariffs by becoming 51st US state, says report

Donald Trump joked that Canada could become the 51st US state if it wants to avoid hefty tariffs he plans to impose on the nation, according to sources.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined Trump for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday, for what Trump called a “very productive” three-hour dinner between the two leaders.

The meeting came days after the president-elect threatened a blanket 25 percent tariff on “all products” entering the US from Canada and Mexico – and an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods.

Sources told Fox News that, during the dinner, Trump joked that there is a way around the looming levies: Canada becoming America’s 51st state.

Trudeau, among others at the meeting, responded to the quip with nervous laughter, the sources said.

Trump is said to have continued the gag by telling the Canadian leader that prime minister is a better sounding title than governor.

The sources added that another person around the table then chimed in that the 51st state would be a very liberal one which sparked further laughter – and a suggestion from Trump that Canada be split into two: a conservative state and a liberal state.

Prior to the meeting, Trudeau had voiced his concerns that Trump’s tariff plans will not be merely empty threats.

“Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There’s no question about that,” he told reporters.

“Our responsibility is to point out that in this way he would be actually not just harming Canadians who work so well with the United States. He’d actually be raising prices for American citizens as well, and hurting American industry and businesses.”

Following the meeting, the Canadian prime minister told reporters the pair had enjoyed an “excellent conversation.”

On Saturday, Trudeau then shared a photo with Trump on X and thanked the president-elect for dinner, writing: “I look forward to the work we can do together, again.”

Trump, meanwhile, said that the pair discussed “many important topics” including the fentanyl crisis, fair trade deals and “massive” trade deficits with the U.S.

Writing on Truth Social on Sunday, he said: “I made it very clear that the United States will no longer sit idly by as our Citizens become victims to the scourge of this Drug Epidemic, caused mainly by the Drug Cartels, and Fentanyl pouring in from China.

“Too much death and hardship! Prime Minister Trudeau has made a commitment to work with us to end this terrible devastation of U.S. Families.”

Trump added that they also addressed “energy, trade, and the Arctic”.

The proposed tariff plan comes as Trump blames Canada and Mexico for the flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S.

“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump said on Truth Social on November 25.