Rubio defends Trump’s 51st state rhetoric while on Canadian soil
Global News
The top U.S. diplomat was repeatedly pressed by reporters at the conclusion of the G7 foreign ministers summit in Quebec about whether he agrees with Trump's comments.
The top diplomat of the U.S. government on Friday defended U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated call to make Canada the 51st state, calling it an economic “argument” that “stands for itself” while speaking on Canadian soil.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was repeatedly pressed by reporters at the conclusion of the G7 foreign ministers summit in Charlevoix, Que., about whether he agrees with Trump’s comments, which have escalated amid a growing trade war to include calling the Canada-U.S. border an “artificial line.”
“There’s a disagreement between the president’s position and the position of the Canadian government. I don’t think that’s a mystery coming in, and it wasn’t a topic of conversation because that’s not what this summit was about.”
Rubio later reiterated that the issue wasn’t discussed at the summit, but when pressed again said the issue began in December 2024, when then-prime minister Justin Trudeau met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to discuss the threat of tariffs on Canada.
“He says he loves Canada. He made an argument for why Canada would be better off joining the United States from an economic standpoint and the like. He’s made that argument repeatedly, and I think it stands for itself.”
Trump has made similar claims about Trudeau’s comments when recalling their December dinner, which came after Trump first raised the possibility of sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico over border security concerns. Those tariffs and subsequent rounds of duties on Canadian products since early March have led to a trade war and souring relations between the two historical allies.
Trudeau has acknowledged he raised concerns about the economic impact of those tariffs during the Mar-a-Lago meeting, but has not confirmed Trump’s claim he said Canada wouldn’t be able to survive as a country.
However, Trudeau initially brushed off Trump’s “51st state” remark as a joke, only to warn of its seriousness later after Trump kept repeating it.
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