Finnish President Alexander Stubb suggested that Canada could be a candidate to join the European Union as both Ottawa and the bloc continue clashing with the Trump administration.
"Wouldn't it be lovely if Canada was the 28th state of the European Union rather than the 51st state of the United States?" Stubb said at the Eurelectric Power Summit, according to a report by CNBC.
Stubb also said that the EU should expand aggressively and look to increase its membership to 40 states. Other potential additions he floated were Turkey, Norway, Iceland, and the return of the United Kingdom, which officially left the EU in 2020 following a referendum commonly referred to as Brexit years earlier.
"In this moment, we need to think big and geographically, we need to enlarge or at least create memberships which are flexible enough to bring in a sum total of 40 European states — or even non-European," Stubb said.
Stubb's comments about Canada follow a new social media publication by President Donald Trump, who again referred to Canada as the 51st state of the U.S. The post was made in reference to a story about Canada falling into a technical recession.
Trump previously mused that he could perhaps use "economic force" to annex Canada.
"That would really be something," NBC News reported Trump said in January 2025. "You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like. And it would also be much better for national security. They're great, but we're spending hundreds of billions here to protect it."
In response to Trump's post, Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated: "I can't believe I have to say this again, but Canada will never be the 51st state. Canada is not for sale," NBC News reported.
Canada had not yet issued a statement regarding Stubb's comments and joining the EU.
The EU is considering a significant expansion with nine candidate countries already being considered for admission to the bloc. CNBC reported that Montenegro and Albania are top contenders to become members, while Ukraine and Moldova have yet to begin formal talks to join.
"No one is talking about Turkey anymore, and we need to open our minds to understand that at least from a security perspective, Turkey needs to be as close as possible," Stubb said, according to CNBC.
