Donald Trump took credit for the resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday.
The US president-elect suggested Trudeau step aside because he knows Canada cannot be successful without US help
“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,” he wrote on Truth Social hours after Trudeau’s comments.
It appears that Trump is becoming more serious in his desire to make Canada the 51st US state and that he feels strengthened by Trudeau’s resignation.
The prime minister dramatically resigned in remarks that sealed a spectacular fall from grace on the same day the US Congress certified the results of the 2024 presidential election in a Trump victory.
What started as a joke during a meeting with Trudeau late last year is now becoming a full-fledged and apparently serious proposal from Trump for the US to encircle its neighbors to the north.
“A lot of people in Canada are excited to be the 51st state,” he said of the idea.
President Donald Trump again floated the idea of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state when he cited its tariff plan as the reason Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned Monday.
“If Canada were to merge with the US, there would be no tariffs, taxes would be much lower, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese ships that constantly surround them,” the President-elect continued.
“Together, what a great nation it would be!!!”
The idea first emerged during a meeting between Trump and Trudeau, after the president-elect laid out his plan to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico if they did not help with the migrant and fentanyl crisis.
When Trudeau said the plan would kill the Canadian economy, Trump joked that they could just become a US state and the problem would be solved.
Members of Canada’s Liberal Party are at odds over how to deal with Trump in his second term.
This led to weeks of pressure from party colleagues for Trudeau to resign.
With his government in turmoil, a clearly dejected Trudeau, 53, said at his press conference Monday morning that Parliament would be suspended until March 24 while his Liberal Party chooses a new leader.
The scion of one of Canada’s most famous political families had become deeply unpopular in recent years over a range of issues, including the rising costs of food and housing, and rising immigration.
Trump has repeatedly mocked the Canadian leader by suggesting his country would be better off as the 51st US state and referred to him as Governor Trudeau.
Trump’s tariff announcement sent Trudeau into a frenzy to try to clean up his relationship with the US president-elect before he is sworn in later this month.
The day after unveiling the idea in November, Trudeau immediately flew to Mar-a-Lago to do damage control.
After the expected announcement on Monday, the president-elect emphasized that Canada would become a state.
Trudeau resigned as Prime Minister of Canada on Monday after weeks of tension within the Liberal Party
Trump said the Canadian people ‘LOVE’ the idea of becoming an American state
Trudeau’s party was at odds over how to deal with new US President Donald Trump after he announced a plan to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canada to apply pressure to help with the tough action against the border crisis.
During remarks at the Rideau Cottage residence in Ottawa, Canada on Monday morning, Trudeau announced he will be stepping aside. Just before he left his house, papers with his speech on them flew off the lectern, indicating that he had spoken his remarks out of hand.
“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party elects its next leader through a robust, nationwide competitive process,” Trudeau announced in a speech delivered in English and then French.
Longtime Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) credited the president-elect with “liberating” Canada.
“After tyrannical Covid abuse, destroying freedom of speech, importing military aged male ‘refugees’ and being Zelensky’s biggest cheerleader, Trudeau RESIGNS!” she praised X.
Before opening up to reporters’ questions, Trudeau noted that he is a “fighter” and suggested how difficult it was for him to make the decision to step aside.
“I will always be motivated by what is in the best interests of Canadians, and the fact is that despite efforts to pass it, Parliament has been paralyzed for months,” Trudeau said, adding that he will not be successful in re-election could continue as long as there was conflict within the party.
He also revealed that his only regret is that Canada’s elections were not changed so that voters could choose their ranked decision for leadership, instead of just voting for their top decision.
“If I have one regret, especially as we approach this election – well, probably a lot of regrets that I’ll think about,” Trudeau said.
“But I do wish we could have changed the way we choose our governments in this country so that people could simply choose a second choice or a third choice on the same ballot.”
Trudeau will remain in power until his party elects a new leader, which they will have to do before the fall general election, which shows the Conservatives will win with Pierre Poilievre as their leader.
The father-of-three had been Prime Minister since November 2015 and lived with his family at Rideau Cottage. He and his wife Sophie announced their divorce in August 2023.
He revealed that he told his children about his decision over dinner on Sunday night.
Trudeau’s term now ends after just over eight years in the prime minister’s office.
And as he prepared for his historic announcement on Monday, his ex-wife posted on Instagram about a ski trip in Canada’s Gatineau Park.
Amid reports of Trudeau’s impending resignation this week, the Canadian dollar started to rise after a massive, record-breaking dip last month.
Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday morning, before Trudeau’s resignation became official, that it would be “very good” if Poilievre took over as Canadian prime minister later this year.
“Our positions would certainly be more aligned,” Trump said, but added: “We don’t need anything from Canada.”
Poilievre blamed Trudeau’s resignation on Trump and said he and others dissatisfied with the leadership are “relieved” by Monday’s announcement.
But he released a video on
“Every Liberal MP and leadership candidate supported EVERYTHING Trudeau did for nine years, and now they want to deceive voters by switching another Liberal face to continue ripping off Canadians for another four years, just like Justin,” he wrote in an post along with a nearly four-minute video clip.
Trudeau’s resignation followed Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s resignation in mid-December. On her way out, Freeland mentioned her differences with Trudeau over how to approach Trump’s presidency and his tariff proposal.
Canada is preparing for the general elections at the end of October this year.
Trudeau, once a very popular political leader, has fallen out of favor in recent years – especially as Trump rises in prominence. Only one if five Canadians now feel their country is moving in the right direction with Trudeau at the helm.
And even Trudeau couldn’t downplay the importance of secure borders after announcing in October that Canada would sharply reduce the number of new immigrants entering the country.
He conceded that the influx of permanent citizens over the past four years – a period when President Joe Biden also led the US in record-breaking illegal immigration – was putting too much pressure on the housing market.
This comes after Trudeau often bragged about how Canada welcomed immigrants and newcomers better than other Western countries.
“Even Justin Trudeau wants to close Canada’s borders,” President-elect Trump noted.
In December, just a month after winning a second term, Trump announced his new tariff idea.
He unveiled the plan to impose a 25 percent tax on goods from Mexico and Canada in retaliation for their refusal to help more with the fentanyl and migration crisis.
And for China he wants an additional tariff of 10 percent on top of other tariffs.
Trump denied in a post Monday morning that his plan will be reversed, as noted in a report on his proposal.
“The Washington Post story, citing so-called anonymous sources that do not exist, falsely states that my tariff policy will be rolled back. That is wrong,” Trump wrote in Truth Social.
“The Washington Post knows it’s wrong. It’s just another example of Fake News.”
Donald Trump posted in Truth Social on November 25 his intention to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico to pressure North American neighbors to do more to help suppress illegal immigration and the fentanyl trade .