Donald Trump revives ‘51st State’ threats after Canada slips into technical recession

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a group photo at the G7 Summit, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Kananaskis, Canada.

U.S. President Donald Trump has revived calls for Canada to become the “51st State,” after the country slipped into a technical recession on May 29.

Trump took to Truth Social Monday night to post “51st State” with a link to a Bloomberg news article titled “Canada Dips Into Technical Recession for First Time Since 2020”.

The post was reshared by U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra.

Both jabs caught the attention of Ontario Premier Doug Ford who wrote in a X post on Tuesday, “I can’t believe I have to say this again, but Canada will never be the 51^st state. Canada is not for sale.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also pushed back on Trump’s comments on Tuesday, telling reporters the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state is “ridiculous and it’s never going to happen.”

Poilievre added that “ridiculous comments” like Trump’s should not serve as a distraction from “the very real suffering that Canadians are experiencing as a result of Liberal policies here at home.”

On Monday, the Conservative leader called for an emergency debate on the state of the economy and called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to be accountable “in a moment of crisis” for causing what Poilievre says is the only recession in the G7.

READ MORE: Trump revives 51st state threat, LeBlanc wants CUSMA renewed

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Carney did not respond to Poilievre’s or Trump’s comments, but did acknowledge “weaknesses” in Canada’s economy that could have led to the recession.

When asked directly about whether Canada is in a recession, Carney told reporters in Ottawa that the government has been “in the process of laying the foundations for a stronger, more resilient, more independent Canadian economy.”

This is a developing story. More info to come...