President-elect Trump continued his drumbeat about Canada on Wednesday, criticizing US subsidies to its northern neighbor and claiming again that Canadians supposedly want to become the 51st US state.
In a message on his social media platform, Trump wrote: “No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year?”
“It doesn’t make sense! Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st state. They would save enormously on taxes and military protection,” Trump wrote.
The post comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Canada over the incoming president’s plans to impose a 25% rates for Canada for their failure to address trade and immigration issues.
TRUMP WEIGHS ON POLITICAL TURMOIL IN THE ‘GREAT STATE OF CANADA’, TOLLING ‘GOVERNOR JUSTIN TRUDEAU’
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump, makes remarks during a campaign rally at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center on October 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Mar-a-Lago in an attempt to discuss the issue. Sources say Trump became animated when it came to the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, which he estimated at more than $100 billion.
TRUMP MAKES A BLIZZARD OF NEWS, SHOWS RETRAINING AT PRESSER, EVEN WHILE BEATING MEDIA
Trump reportedly suggested to Trudeau that if tariffs on Canada killed the economy, perhaps Canada would become the economy 51st US state.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a fireside chat with the Halifax Chamber of Commerce in Halifax on Monday, December 9, 2024. (Riley Smith/The Canadian Press via AP)
Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on Canadian imports, meanwhile, unnerved Canada, which is highly integrated with the U.S. economy.
About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports come from Canada, as do 85% of U.S. electricity imports.
A Canadian Customs and Fisheries officer watches over the US-Canada border between Blaine, Washington and White Rock, British Columbia.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 crucial minerals and metals coveted by the Pentagon.
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Nearly $3.6 billion worth of goods and services cross the border in Canada (or $2.7 billion in the U.S.) every day. Canada is the main export destination for 36 US states.
Greg Wehner of Fox News Digital and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
