Trump reignites '51st state' threat as key ally sinks into 'technical recession'

President Donald Trump with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on May 6, 2025 (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok/Flickr)

President Donald Trump has taken Canada's recent economic hardships as an opportunity for himself, according to CTV News, renewing his threats about taking over the country as the "51st state."

On May 29, Canada slipped into what is known as a "technical recession," which is a definition some use to mathematically pinpoint the start of a recession when a country posts two consecutive fiscal quarters of negative growth. It is meant to be used as a simple, more quantifiable definition, as opposed to a formal declaration. This is only when looking at Canada's growth an annual basis, not a quarterly one, making the situation slightly murky.

"Statistics Canada said real gross domestic product fell 0.1 per cent on an annualized basis in the first three months of this year," CBC News reported last week. "That comes after a downwardly revised contraction of one per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025."

The report added later: "However, on a quarterly basis, the first quarter GDP was unchanged against a decline in the fourth quarter of last year, closely escaping the definition of a technical recession on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The annualized GDP figure scales up the quarterly figure to show what the GDP would be if the economy kept the same pace for the whole year, whereas the quarterly figure looks at the sheer number."

Taking to his Truth Social account on Monday night, Trump shared a link to a Bloomberg story about the news, alongside text reading, "51st state!"

Trump and his allies first began insisting that Canada should be annexed by the U.S. almost immediately after he took office for the second time. As he ramped up his tariff agenda, he suggested that he might only consider lifting them for the close ally nation if they agreed to join the U.S., which kick-started a severe wave of negative public sentiment towards the country among Canadians, prompting widespread product boycotts and the cessation of vital tourism.

The pressure campaign, which has largely subsided aside from the occasional comment, was widely credited with helping Canada's Liberal Party reverse its fortunes and retain power in its 2025 elections.

In response to the post, Doug Ford, the conservative premier of Ontario, took to X with his own post, renewing his own fierce opposition to Trump's rhetoric.

"I can’t believe I have to say this again, but Canada will never be the 51st state," Ford posted. "Canada is not for sale.”

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