President Donald Trump injected himself into Canada’s federal campaign, urging Canadians to “make the cherished 51st state” their choice as they headed to the polls.
In a social-media post released hours before voting stations opened, Trump said Canadians could see “taxes cut in half” and economic growth “quadruple in size” if the country folds into the United States.
Trump said the border is an “artificially drawn line from many years ago” and claimed annexation would bring “all positives with no negatives.”
The remarks tightened an already tense campaign dominated by trade friction.
Last month, Trump hammered Canada with economy-wide tariffs, pausing them only for goods that meet the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
Earlier duties on steel, aluminum, autos, and now proposed tariffs on lumber and copper have rattled Canadian exporters and fears of a wider trade war.
Both Liberal Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre swiftly condemned Trump’s comments.
Each argued their political party is best suited to defend Canadian sovereignty and navigate relations with the country’s largest trading partner.
“We will never bargain away Canada’s independence,” Carney told reporters.
Poilievre called the president’s idea “outrageous” and said only a strong Conservative mandate can “stand up to Washington and bring jobs home.”
South of the border, support for annexation remains thin.
Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration had taken “no steps” toward merging the two nations, but added “we’ll deal with the new leadership of Canada.”
Today’s vote will decide which leader confronts Trump as he signals a willingness to upend his own trade deal.
Polls close at 8 pm local time across most of the country.