OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest “51st state” remark, calling it “ridiculous” while urging Canadians to focus on domestic economic challenges.Poilievre’s reaction came Tuesday after unexpectedly joining reporters gathered outside a pre-cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill. Trump’s comment came in response to an article announcing that Canada had entered a recession writing short “51st state” in a post on Truth Social. Poilievre's appearance came after Prime Minister Mark Carney took questions from reporters on the recession for the first time since the news dropped last Friday.Asked for his reaction, Poilievre rejected the suggestion outright.“It’s ridiculous, and it’s never going to happen,” he said..The Conservative leader argued Canadians should not allow such comments to distract from domestic economic concerns.“We have to make sure that we don’t allow ridiculous comments like that to distract us from the very real suffering that Canadians are experiencing as a result of Liberal policies here at home,” Poilievre said.He pointed to rising food insecurity as an issue he believes deserves greater attention.“The families who can’t afford food, the one in four Canadians who are living in food insecurity,” he said. “They don’t want us to be distracted by a foolish comment like that.”“They want us to focus on reversing the Liberal policies that have made them hungry in the first place.”US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra reposted a screenshot of Trump's comment to X.
