‘Join us as 51’: Trump revives Canada statehood pitch with defence twist, Carney says ‘never for sale’

Speaking in Virginia, Trump said Canada could get coverage under America’s “Golden Dome” if it joined the United States as a state.

U.S. President Donald Trump has once again floated the idea of Canada joining the United States as the 51st state, reviving rhetoric he had dialed back earlier this year after the election of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, according to a report by CBC.

Speaking to senior military officials at an event in Virginia, Trump tied his latest pitch to America’s developing Golden Dome missile defence system.

“Canada called me a couple of weeks ago. They want to be part of it. To which I said, well, why don’t you just join our country? Become the 51st state and you get it for free,” Trump told the gathering.

He added he wasn’t sure if his pitch “made a big impact,” but insisted that, in his view, merging the two countries “makes a lot of sense.”

Linking defence to politics

Trump said Canada was “having a hard time” after being hit by tariffs, and claimed his trade policies were shifting trillions of dollars in investment back to the United States.

He has previously said that if Canada wanted protection under the Golden Dome, it would need to pay USD 71 billion. The system, he argues, is designed to shield against missiles, drones and other aerial threats.

Carney’s sharp rebuttal

Asked for comment on Trump’s latest remarks, a spokesperson for Carney told CBC: “I’ll just point you to the many comments we’ve made in the past on similar comments from the president.”

Carney has repeatedly rejected the 51st state talk. At their first face-to-face meeting in May, he quipped that as a property developer Trump should know “there are some places that are never for sale.”

“Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale and it won’t be for sale ever,” Carney said then.

When Trump responded “never say never,” Carney fired back: “Never, never, never, never, never.”

According to CBC, Carney later revealed he asked Trump privately to stop making the taunts during a luncheon at the White House.

Missile defence still on the table

While rejecting Trump’s statehood rhetoric, Carney has left the door open to talks on missile defence cooperation. At the G7 in June, he said Ottawa was exploring a “potential extension” of NORAD, the long-standing bi-national air defence alliance, as part of discussions on the Golden Dome.

“These are live, ongoing discussions and we will continue to pursue them as long as they make sense for Canada,” Carney told reporters.

U.S. envoy distances himself

Trump’s remarks come just days after Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, suggested the annexation rhetoric was history.

“That came out of a time when there was a certain kind of relationship between the president and a prime minister. You guys can talk about it. I’m not. I’m focused on delivering results,” Hoekstra told reporters during a stop in New Brunswick, adding he had “no direction” to continue a dialogue on the 51st state.