Donald Trump has claimed Canada is considering becoming a “cherished 51st state” in exchange for free Golden Dome protection.
The president posted his comment, without evidence, after King Charles addressed the opening of Canada’s parliament on Tuesday morning. The British royal said the country faced “unprecedented challenges” but that the Canadian government would “protect Canada’s sovereignty”.
Writing on his TruthSocial platform, Trump said: “I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer!”
Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney has repeatedly rejected Trump’s calls to make Canada the 51st state, and in a statement to CTV News his office said that position had not changed.
“The prime minister has been clear at every opportunity, including in his conversations with President Trump, that Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and it will remain one,” the prime minister’s office said.
Trump revealed the missile defense system plan last week, saying the U.S. now has the technology to combat intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles and even space-based missiles.
The president said America has settled on the architecture for a “state of the art system” that would protect the U.S. from the threat of foreign missile attack, which would “deploy next-generation technologies across the land, sea and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors.”
Trump claimed it would be fully operational by January 2029, and said it would provide an umbrella of protection for the U.S. and Canada. Estimates suggest the cost of the dome could be as much as half a trillion dollars.
Canada has expressed interest in the project. In a statement to CTV News, the prime minister’s office said Carney’s election victory gave him “a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States”.
“These discussions naturally include strengthening Norad [North American Aerospace Defense Command] and related initiatives such as the Golden Dome,” the statement continued.
Shortly before Trump’s claims on social media, King Charles addressed Canada’s parliament with thinly veiled rebukes towards the U.S. telling the gathered politicians that “self-determination” was a value that Canada holds dear and that its government is “determined to protect”.
Charles said Canada was working on “defining a new economic and security relationship” with the U.S. which was “rooted in mutual respect”, but added the Canadian government was also working to strengthen its ties with “reliable trading partners and allies around the world”.
The speech isn’t written by the King or his advisers, as Charles serves as a non-partisan head of state. He read what was put before him by Canada’s government, but made some remarks of his own.
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