The Trump administration is firing back at Justin Trudeau for starting a war of words with Trump over a supposed annexation by the United States. 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said conversations on Canada becoming the “51st state” began with the prime minister acknowledging Canada would “cease to exist” in a trade war with America.

Trudeau as recently as February 7 claimed Trump was serious about annexing Canada, though members of his cabinet have relayed the comment was made jokingly.

EXCLUSIVE: @SecRubio on Canada, 51st State and the Hot Mic Moment

HERRIDGE: “In a hot mike moment, Canada’s prime minister said that absorbing Canada “is a real thing.”  Is it a real thing?”

SECRETARY RUBIO: “Yeah, look, you know how that came about?  President’s meeting with… https://t.co/t5BReWwOiR pic.twitter.com/ALZ8FSDCUx

— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) February 21, 2025

Trudeau recently told business leaders that Trump “keeps talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state.”

“They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have and they very much want to be able to benefit from those,” he said at the time.

While President Trump has frequently called on Canada to become part of the U.S., his comments were not made in the context of wanting Canadian resources, reported the Epoch Times. Trump told reporters last month that he doesn’t need Canadian oil, cars, or lumber for that matter.

“When it comes to economics and trade there has to be reciprocity, there has to be fairness,” said Rubio. The U.S. had a $67.9 billion trade deficit with Canada in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

🚨LEAKED AUDIO: Trudeau warns business leaders at the Canada-U.S. economic summit that Donald Trump is serious about annexing Canada: "it is a real thing." pic.twitter.com/GKa5HxCRFg

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) February 7, 2025

Rubio told reporters last Thursday that the U.S. wasn’t serious about absorbing Canada, noting it was Trudeau who first raised the existential threat of tariffs last November 29.

“At which point the president responded, very logically, and that is, ‘well, if you can’t exist without cheating in trade, then you should become a state.’ That was his observation there,” Rubio said.

“That’s how it started?” a reporter asked. “It is how it started,” said the Secretary of State. He added that Canada remains a “friend,” “neighbour,” and “partner” to the United States.

Trump recently delayed tariffs on Canadian goods through early-March, following last-minute phone calls with Trudeau, who pledged to appoint a “fentanyl czar” and implement his $1.3 billion border plan.

However, Trump implemented 25% tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel, similar to his first term in the Oval Office. Further tariffs are expected upon further review.

“What gains did we hear from Mr. Trudeau? None.”

Pierre Poilievre reacts to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s trip to Mar-a-Lago to meet with U.S. President-elect Trump. pic.twitter.com/v3qcwV5Bfe

— Juno News (@junonewscom) December 2, 2024

During a press conference at Mar-a-Lago last month, President Trump threatened to use “economic force” against Canada in trade disputes—not military force.

“You get rid of that artificially drawn [border] line, and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security,” Trump said at the time.

More recently, the president jokingly said Canada should join the United States to avoid tariffs altogether.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc confirmed the president was teasing Ottawa during their visit at Mar-a-Lago. “It was, of course, on that issue in no way a serious comment.”

Trudeau says "one of the ways" Canadians define themselves is by saying, "well, we're not Americans."

He calls President-elect Trump "a very skillful negotiator" and says he's using talk of annexation to distract from threats of 25% tariffs on goods the US imports from Canada. pic.twitter.com/0S6zctOXuz

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 9, 2025

Though Trudeau praised Trump as a “very skillful negotiator” in comments to CNN, he later told MSNBC that Canadians should take Trump’s rhetoric seriously.

The prime minister said that Trump suggested Canada become the “51st state,” Trudeau joked that there could be a trade for states like Vermont or California.

“He immediately decided that it was not that funny anymore and we moved onto a different conversation,” said Canada’s outgoing leader.

After proroguing Parliament on January 6, Trudeau took a more diplomatic approach to Trump, but that appears to have changed in the lead up to his final 30 days in office.

As recently as December, the prime minister called out “regressive forces” for not electing the first woman president in American history. He is set to resign after a successor is chosen on March 9.

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