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As if his beef with his fellow Americans wasn’t wild enough, Donald Trump’s talents as the king of bold provocative statements has vexed multiple other heads of state.
At his inauguration, spurred by his ‘’Manifest Destiny” expansionist ideals, he mentioned how he planned to purchase Greenland. This part of the speech was met with a few snickers, until he began making thinly-veiled threats at neighborly Canada. When Trump is not getting uncomfortable laughs out of a crowd, he is also a very shrewd businessman with a conglomerate, and a two-time presidency to his name. In other words, there is no way to really tell when he intends to make a bad joke or start a war.
The start of another Cold War?
On the very day he was inaugurated, Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Canada, to be made official on his first day as president. This would include Canadian exports to the United States such as oil, potash, steel, electricity and uranium. With the threat of a loss of thousands of Canadian jobs looming, Trump has been approached by several Canadian authorities, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It was during these talks that Trump point-blank stated that he would only back down from these heavy tariffs if Canada became “our 51st state,” even though “some people say that would be a long shot.”
The United States’ “artificially drawn line,” aka Trump’s description of the Canadian border line- is the world’s longest undefended border. Despite cultural rifts and passive jabs, the US-Canada border has not been a source of contention since at least the 19th century. The idea that Trump would make statements about annexing Canada using “economic force” undermines the reasons he stated as his motivations to place said tariffs in the first place.
For any astute observer, it is unclear how annexation would be the best solution to undocumented migration, fentanyl trafficking, and an exaggerated trade deficit. This is also despite the considerable costs to the U.S. Military and nuclear sector. There is also the likelihood of retaliatory tariffs on American exports such as was incurred in the 2018 trade dispute. For example, in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, American companies were immediately banned from bidding on government contracts as talks about the tariffs began to fly. The province also halted an ongoing deal with Starlink, Elon Musk’s company.
Canada’s response
Trudeau’s response to Trump’s statements has mostly been that of disregard, as he seems to believe Trump only brought annexation up to distract the public from the actual threat that the tariffs pose to the innocent working class citizens of both nations. Although still embroiled in his resignation process as Prime Minister, he took to X to retort that: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.”
So, in conclusion, the idea of Donald Trump annexing Canada is a highly implausible and unrealistic one. While his continuous provocative rhetoric often invites that speculation, the historical, legal, and diplomatic foundations of the U.S, and especially that of Canada relations make such a scenario nearly impossible. But again, this speculation at all shows the unpredictability of Trump’s presidency and its effects on global perceptions. This is specifically concerning, considering the amount of jaw-dropping policies the president has fronted in less than one month of entering the White House.