Many Canadian supporters of Donald J. Trump welcome his idea of joining the United States, but some only want Alberta and Saskatchewan to join, not all of Canada.
The Western Standard probed the views of Canadian Trump supporters, mostly through questions posted on social media. In a phone interview, retired nurse Brenda Virtue of Bowmanville, Ont., said Canada joining the U.S. is a big question — even south of the border.
“I was in Tulsa [Oklahoma] for two weeks in January, and that's the biggest question people asked me, ‘What [do] Canadians think about becoming the 51st state?’”
Trump calling Canada the 51st state is his way of negotiating, Virtue said.
“He likes to get a rise out of people. And when he says things like that, it makes people do other stuff,” she explained.
Virtue, who nursed in Sacramento, California in past decades, said she has lost faith in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She might be okay with joining the U.S. depending on “how it came down.”
“I'd definitely miss Canadian healthcare, except because the government's involved, it's delayed so much, people die waiting for [treatment],” Virtue explained.
In Winnipeg, Cheyenne Keith said joining the U.S. is an opportunity: “Puerto Rico has been begging for statehood for decades and they’re offering it to us on a platter. Being pro-American union doesn’t make you anti-Canadian.”
Edward de Vries of Esterhazy, Sask. loves the idea. “I would sign up right away, provided we could exchange our currency on a one-to-one value. Canada as we knew it is over, and it looks unlikely to ever return.”
Many Trump supporters said Canadian decline under the Liberal government made Trump's talk more palatable.
“I don’t believe that Trump will actually make us a 51st state. I believe we are in the biggest game of chicken with the USA and Canada will lose. Everything that Trump is doing is showing our country’s weakness due to poor leadership and reckless decisions. I believe this is a strategy to get Canada to clean up its act,” said Natalie DiPietra Cudmore, a real estate agent in Spruce Grove, Alta.
Mark Wong, a real estate broker in Toronto wants more "business mobility" between provinces and "a greater economic union in North America."
“Canada has already made itself the 51st state with all its anti-energy, anti-investment, and anti-growth policies. We might as well make it official so the people could get a tax break,” Wong said. “I hope Trump’s rhetoric forces us to reconsider the folly of our ways.”
An Environics poll in October 2024 found that 44 percent of Canadians who intend to vote Conservative would also vote for Trump if they were American, compared to 36 percent for Kamala Harris and 20 percent undecided. However, Conservatives who were female or older than 55 were still more likely to vote for Harris.
Among undecided Canadian voters, Harris supporters outnumbered Trump backers 3-to-1. This ratio was higher than 10-to-1 for Liberal voters, and roughly 13-to-1 for both NDP and Bloc voters.
Teresa Wipp Docksteader, self-employed in Fort Saint John, B.C., said she is weary of paying high taxes.
“The U.S. is going to just come and get us. I am waving my white flag,” Docksteader said. “If we cannot stop the corruption here I could welcome becoming part of the US. [I] just spent 10 days in Arizona. There is such a difference in how free the US is. I love it every time [Trump] calls Trudeau ‘governor.’”
Andrew Brown, a music producer from Saskatoon, suspects Trump doesn’t want to annex Canada, but forge more cooperation on combating the opioid crisis, illegal immigration, and transnational gangs.
“Trump has always displayed a dry, facetious sense of humor and is definitely trolling our PM. It's a tongue in cheek way of him showing everyone that nothing was getting done,” Brown said.
Lorne Ridgway in Christopher Lake, Sask. would be okay with Saskatchewan and Alberta or all provinces joining the Union.
“I would welcome all or any of it. It certainly doesn’t scare me. I think of all the positives that can come out of a union like this,” Ridgway said. “Canada needs to clean up our act with immigration and the border. Canada’s lack of military power is a huge issue and has left us very vulnerable."
At a White House press conference on February 26, a reporter said unnamed government officials in Canada suggested to him that if Alberta join the U.S., Saskatchewan would follow, then possibly British Columbia.
In reply, Trump said, “A lot of people in Canada are liking becoming our beautiful, cherished 51st state.” He said the U.S. did not need Canadian cars, lumber, or oil, and promised the northerners “ultimate security” as part of the U.S.
A survey of “randomly recruited” members of Leger’s online panel in October 2024 found 57 percent of Albertans would vote for Harris, and 23 percent for Trump, with the remainder undecided.
In comments to the Western Standard, some western Trump supporters cited western alienation, wanting Uncle Sam to come only for them.
“I like Trump and support what he's doing for America,” said Tony Ollenberger of Saskatoon, Sask. “However, he can lay off the 51st state nonsense anytime–unless he's interested in just taking Alberta and Saskatchewan.”
Regina, Sask. resident Dane Melby questions Trump’s intentions but welcomes his region joining the U.S.
“I don't actually know what to believe about his remarks on Canada becoming the 51st state. Part of me thinks he's joking, part of me thinks he's serious. I will say this though, I would rather have Trump in charge of Canada than Trudeau,” Melby said, prior to Trudeau's departure.
“Western Canada has been subsidizing Eastern Canada in the form of equalization payments for decades. I am in favor of Western Canada becoming the 51st state. Eastern Canada can suffer without Western Canada,” Melby added.
Medicine Hat, Alta. resident John Wurtz uses the iconic image of Trump with his fist raised rising from his assassination attempt as his Facebook profile picture.
“Not never ever should Canada become the 51st state. Alberta and Sask should become the 51st state, and then Canada should have a 50 percent tariff slapped on everything. And anyone entering Alberta and Saskatchewan from the rest of Canada should have to pay a $500 entry fee,” Wurtz said.
Bradley Ollerhead, a photographer in Victoria, said he lost confidence in Canadian governments during the pandemic and values freer trade. However, “As far as being a state goes, that might be a step too far,” he said.
Inez Huber, Pilot Butte, Sask. likes Trump’s stances on many things, just not Canada.
“I think he should just worry about his own country. He's got a lot of states there that he's got to set straight and get under his belt,” Huber said in an interview. “He's got an agenda in his head, and he thinks that if he absorbs us, he's going to absorb everything that we have–all of our resources, our minerals.”
Huber said ultimately, “We need to better Canada and better our province alone."
Erma Rea of Foam Lake, Sask. says Trump has done a good job as 47th president. "In the short time that he's been in there, the things he's done have made a big difference. That needed to be done, and no one else would stand up and do it," she said.
Still, Rea thought the U.S. would become the bigger beneficiary of taking over Canada.
"If we become part of the States, he's going to have our resources, and then what are we going to have?" she asked. "The States is going to own that, not us. We'll just be another state of the United States."
But Lafleche, Sask. resident Lee Tallon says, better America's shadow than another's.
"I do not want to see us become the 51st state, but I do believe that we need a very healthy relationship with the US in order for us to be the strongest Canada that we can be. However, I also believe that we are better off being the 51st state and having that happen publicly, rather than being taken over quietly by any number of other nations that view us as a way to expand their land base and access our minerals, energy, and agricultural products," Tallon said.