Trump's Legacy of U.S. Expansion

 "You've talked about acquiring Greenland, taking control of the Panama Canal, making Canada the 51st State."

"Maybe you're trolling a little bit on that one. I don't know."

"Well, do you want to grow the American empire?"

'100 Days Interview', Eric Cortellessa

 

"Actually, no, I'm not."

"I think Canada, what you said that, 'Well, that one, I might be trolling'. But I'm really not trolling."

Canada is an interesting case. We lose $200 to $250 billion a year supporting Canada. And I asked a man who I called Governor Trudeau, I said: Why? Why do you think we're losing so much money supporting you?"

"Do you think that's right? Do you think that's appropriate for another country to make it possible, for a country to sustain, and he was unable to give me an answer, but it costs us over $200 billion a year to take care of Canada?"

"We're taking care of their military. We're taking care of every aspect of their lives, and we don't need them to make cars for us ... We want to make our own cars."

"We don't need their lumber. We don't need anything from Canada. And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state."

U.S. President Donald Trump

Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 24, 2025. Photo by SAUL LOEB /Getty

 

"It's possible [Trump] was referring to the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, which in 2024, amounted to $63 billion for goods."

"But that number still is far short of $200 billion."

Time magazine

Time noted that the U.S. Department of Defense requested a budget of $849 billion for the 2025 fiscal year, checking back on the subject of "taking care of their military". The U.S., the magazine pointed out, is responsible for 60 percent of the cost of the radar system of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), at a cost of $20 billion. 

 

"Do you want to be  remembered as a president who expanded American territory?", Cortellessa asked Trump, who responded "Wouldn't mind". 

 

Trouble is, Canadians WOULD mind, when it comes to their sovereignty and respect for a country called Canada, proud of its culture, its tradition, its heritage, its population and its values, some of which mesh with that of its neighbour, but many of which definitely do not. Becoming a part of the United States has never been an issue that Canada and Canadians found attractive, and the banter turning to economic threats to coerce the country to think otherwise have failed to find favour in Canada. In fact, the threat has impacted the federal election campaign that concludes tomorrow.

 

"We can no longer afford to have our economic success depend on such an unreliable partner. There's one person and that person is called President Trump. He's openly taking aim at Ontario's economy, threatening tariffs, disrupting supply chains, putting all of us at risk", stated Ontario Premier Doug Ford during a speech at the Public Policy forum's 2025 Canada Growth Summit in Toronto. 

"He actually wants to destroy our economy. It's not just words. He wants to do it. He wants to destroy our auto sector. He wants to destroy our manufacturing sector. He wants to try to take over Canada, and I can tell you: Canada is not for sale. We will never ever be the 51st state."

 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to media at Queen’s Park in Toronto, on Thursday, April 3, 2025. Photo by Laura Proctor /The Canadian Press

"Sometimes I think the cheese slips off the cracker with this guy."

"He wakes up in the morning ... and even his people around him are not too sure what he's going to do or what he's going to say."

"And it's pretty scary that, you know, one sentence out of the most powerful person in the world can change markets."

"It's about certainty. And he's created uncertainty around the world."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford