‘Scary’ or ’empty threats’? Canadians weigh in on Trump’s ’51st state’ plan

The Canadian Press asked people from Halifax to Vancouver what they thought of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s idea to make Canada the “51st state” and use “economic force” to do so.

Here’s what they told us:

“The next person who becomes the prime minister has to be able to stand up and defend the sovereign integrity of Canada.”

— Chinwe Chima, Halifax

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“We are paying way too much attention to this sort of nonsense. I think, like children when they say preposterous things that are laughable, if you ignore them, they will go away. If you give them that credibility and response, they are going to keep doing it ’cause they get a rise out of you.”

— Mark MacDonald, Halifax

“It makes me a bit nervous that (Trump) is going to take some lessons from his friend Mr. Putin and what’s happening overseas.”

— Mark McMullin, Halifax

“It’s not a joking matter. It’s very annoying.”

— Cynthia Alday, Halifax

“I do think he is out of his mind. On the other hand, it could be a bit scary because we’ve seen what he is able to do.”

— Mireille Plourde, Montreal

“It’s super important to take him seriously because we just don’t know yet what he is capable of. It’s also very scary for all Canadians and for our own economy.”

— Simon Genereux-Vien, Montreal

“I think it’s ridiculous, he is posturing and we are not a 51st state and never will be. We are Canada and will always be Canada.

— Sherry Seguin, Ottawa

“I am actually very happy even though our prime minister has decided to step down and resign. I did like (that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) spoke out against that. I wish more members of the Canadian government could be a bit more vocal about pushing back against these positions.”

— Daniel Law, Ottawa

“I think he is being unrealistic, but it’s making a lot of Canadians nervous.”

— Kate Rogers, Toronto

“Empty threats, empty threats. It’s the same old Trump 2.0, that’s it. Empty threats. He likes to think he gains leverage over countries and people, and that’s just his modus operandi.”

— Blaine Matthew, Toronto

“I think he needs to do his homework first in the business plan to see how it would work out because we are different societies, we’re different cultures.”

— Ari Ron, Vancouver

“All around the world, unfortunately, we are seeing these kinds of things occurring, which is for me, personally, I find it very concerning.”

— Fabian Muhlenbruch, Vancouver

— With files from Lyndsay Armstrong in Halifax, Joe Bongiorno In Montreal, Nick Murray in Ottawa, Sharif Hassan in Toronto and Nono Shen in Vancouver

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 8, 2025.

The Canadian Press