'Together, What a Great Nation...': Trump Renews Offer to Make Canada 51st State of US After Trudeau Resigns

Washington: Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada resigned last evening, telling the media that “internal battles” mean he “cannot be the best option” in the next election. Hours after his resignation, US President-elect Donald Trump , who had previously degraded Trudeau by calling him ‘Canada Governor’, reoffered to make Canada the 51st state of the United States.

Trump Renews Offer to Make Canada 51st US State After Trudeau Resignation

Hours after the resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday renewed his offer of making Canada the 51st state of the United States. “Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“If Canada merged with the US, there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!” said the president-elect after the resignation of Trudeau on Monday.

Trudeau, 53, announced to resign Monday as he was forced by his ruling Liberal Party amidst his growing unpopularity. General elections are scheduled this year. The Canadian prime minister said that he would stay on as prime minister till the party elected a new leader.

‘Governor Justin Trudeau’: Trump's Sharp Dig

Trump, 78, who never had a good relationship with Trudeau even during his first term from 2017-2021, has been floating the idea of making Canada the 51st state of the United States ever since he met Trudeau after his November 5 electoral victory in Mar-a-Lago. Thereafter, he has been mentioning this on his social media posts several times. There has not been much reaction to Trump's proposal from the Canadian side. Trump has threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports if Toronto is not able to stop the flow of illicit drugs and illegal migrants from its southern border with the US.

US President-elect Donald Trump took a jab at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, referring to him as the ‘Governor of the 51st state of the USA,’ and recalled his long stand to acquire the Panama Canal, Canada, and Greenland. In a series of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social, last year, Trump doubled down on his long-held stance, emphasizing the strategic importance of these territories to the United States. "Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in its building 110 years ago), always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in "repair" money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about "anything," Trump wrote. Trump added, “Also (Merry Christmas), to Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose Citizens' Taxes are far too high, but if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World.”

Justin Trudeau Resignation Announcement

Trudeau's leadership faced mounting discontent, with the abrupt resignation of his finance minister late last year signaling growing unrest within his government. His baseless allegations against India over Nijjar's killing drew sharp criticism, further straining relations with a key global partner.

After days of suspense amid intensifying pressure on him to step down, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation. "...I intend to resign as party leader, as Prime Minister after the party selects its next leader...Last night I asked the president of the Liberal Party to start that process..," said Trudeau.

In his resignation statement he said, "I'm a fighter. Every bone in my body has always told me to fight because I care deeply about Canadians. And the fact is, despite best efforts to work through it, Parliament has been paralyzed for months. That's why this morning I advised the Governor-General that we need a new session of Parliament. She has granted this request and the House will now be prorogued until March 24th. I intend to resign as party leader, as Prime Minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process. This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I have to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election. A new Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party will carry its values and ideals into the next election. I'm excited to see the process unfold in the months ahead. It's time for a reset. It's time for the temperature to come down, for the people to have a fresh start in Parliament, to be able to navigate through these complex times, both domestically and internationally."

Trudeau further said, "I do wish that we'd been able to change the way we elect our governments ... but I could not change unilaterally, without the support of other parties, our electoral system, that wouldn't have been responsible."

(Inputs from AP)