Trump says ‘highly unlikely’ U.S. ever uses military force to annex Canada

OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump says it is “highly unlikely” the United States would ever use military force to annex Canada, though he maintains he will continue to push to make Canada the 51st state.

In a wide-ranging interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press” which aired Sunday, Trump said he wouldn’t rule out military force against Greenland, but he didn’t see it happening with Canada.

“I think we’re not going to ever get to that point,” Trump said.

“Something could happen with Greenland. I’ll be honest, we need that for national and international security.”

“But I think it’s highly unlikely … I don’t see it with Canada. I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you.”

Trump’s remarks come as Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to have his first face-to-face meeting with the president this week in Washington, in which the countries’ trade war will be the top topic of conversation.

On Sunday, Trump called Carney “a very nice man” and that he congratulated the prime minister on his election victory during their call last week.

“There’s no majority or anything, so that’s going to make things a little bit difficult, I think, for him to run,” Trump said.

“But he nevertheless had a victory and he’s a very nice man, I think.”

The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA, was negotiated during the first Trump administration. At the time Trump called it the best deal ever, and Canadian officials declared it a victory for Canada.

CUSMA is up for review next year, but after Trump’s return to the White House it quickly became clear the president intended to rattle the continental trade pact.

Canada and Mexico were hit early with tariffs the president linked to the flow of fentanyl and people across the borders. U.S. government data shows a tiny volume of fentanyl is intercepted at the U.S.-Canada border. Both countries were also hit by Trump’s steel, aluminum and automobile duties.

Speaking with reporters in Ottawa on Friday, Carney said he would be working to get the best deal for Canada.

Asked by “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker whether Trump will talk to Carney about becoming the 51st state, Trump replied he’ll “always talk about that.”

“You know why? We subsidize Canada to the tune of $200 billion a year,” Trump said.

In fact, the United States’ trade deficit with Canada was $63.3 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. A trade deficit is also not a subsidy.

The U.S. imported $412.7 billion of Canadian goods in 2024, most of which being energy and minerals.

“We don’t need their cars, we don’t need their lumber, we don’t need their energy, we don’t need anything. We do very little business with Canada. They do all of their business practically with us,” Trump said.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. imported more goods from Mexico and China than it did from Canada in 2024.

Canada represented 12.6 per cent of all U.S. imports. By contrast, Canada exported 75.9 per cent of its goods to the U.S.

“We don’t need their cars. In fact, we don’t want their cars. We don’t need their energy. We don’t even want their energy. We have more than they do,” Trump said.

“We don’t want their lumber. We have great lumber. All they have to do is free it up from the environmental lunatics. We don’t need anything that they have.”

— With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2025.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press