--- title: Does Trump Plan to Annex Canada? Secretary Rubio Speaks Out description: Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments come on the eve of Canada's federal election. canonical: https://time.com/7280793/does-trump-plan-to-annex-canada-marco-rubio-51st-state-comments/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-04-27T15:44:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:50:05.909Z article:section: Politics og:title: Does Trump Plan to Annex Canada? Secretary Rubio Speaks Out og:description: Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments come on the eve of Canada's federal election. og:url: https://time.com/7280793/does-trump-plan-to-annex-canada-marco-rubio-51st-state-comments/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd61a7af9e8dd2415/6998c61b25f3ee4bcb644953/GettyImages-2210246608.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6000 og:image:height: 3375 og:image:alt: President Trump Meets With El Salvador President Nayib Bukele At The White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Does Trump Plan to Annex Canada? Secretary Rubio Speaks Out twitter:description: Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments come on the eve of Canada's federal election. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd61a7af9e8dd2415/6998c61b25f3ee4bcb644953/GettyImages-2210246608.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ahead of Canada's Election, Secretary of State Marco Rubio Speaks Out on Trump's Plans to Annex the Country > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party won Canada’s federal election on Monday, capping a stunning turnaround in fortunes fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s annexation threats and trade war._  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Apr 27, 2025 3:44 PM UTC  Secretary of State Marco Rubio sits nearby President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on April 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sits nearby President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on April 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Win McNamee—Getty Images  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Apr 27, 2025 3:44 PM UTC On the eve of Canadians gearing up to vote in a federal election, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed President Donald Trump’s previous comments about making Canada the “51st state.” During an appearance on NBC’s _Meet the Press_ on Sunday, April 27, host Kristen Welker questioned Rubio on whether or not the State Department has “taken any steps to carry out” Trump’s plans “as he has said, to annex Canada.” “What the President said, and he has said this repeatedly, is he was told by the previous Prime Minister \[Justin Trudeau\] that Canada could not survive without unfair trade with the United States, at which point \[Trump\] asked, ‘Well, if you can't survive as a nation without treating us unfairly in trade, then you should become a state,’” [Rubio said](https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/marco-rubio-says-russia-and-ukraine-both-have-to-give-something-up-for-peace-full-interview-238424645879). When asked if the U.S. still wants to make Canada the 51st state, Rubio responded with: “I think the President has stated repeatedly he thinks Canada would be better off as a state.” Rubio’s comments come after a back-and-forth between Canada’s former Prime Minister Trudeau and Trump about how Canada should deal with the pressures felt by Trump’s [tariffs](https://time.com/7272192/us-cities-most-vulnerable-to-canadian-tariffs-report-trump-trade-war/). Canada has also countered with a [25% tariff](https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/tariffs-tarifs/index-eng.html) on goods imported from the U.S. **Read More**: [_These Are the U.S. Cities Most Vulnerable to Canadian Tariffs, a New Report Finds_](https://time.com/7272192/us-cities-most-vulnerable-to-canadian-tariffs-report-trump-trade-war/) Trump has repeatedly said both [on social media](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114144217763824399) and to [reporters](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&t=406&v=41A4YidCQxY) that Canada could become the 51st state of the U.S. [When asked in the Oval Office by reporters](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMDE8%5FfIr0U) in February if there was anything Trudeau could “give” to Trump amid ongoing tariff discussions, Trump reiterated that as a state, there would be no tariffs on the country. “What I’d like to see; Canada become our 51st state,” Trump said. “If people wanted to play the game right, it would be 100% certain that it would become a state.” Canada's current Prime Minister Mark Carney has also spoken out on Trump's persistent comments about annexing Canada. He said Trump raised the matter during a phone call in March. Speaking at a campaign press conference, [Carney said](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4j38gk8edo): "To be clear, as I've said to anyone who's raised this issue in private or in public, including the President, it will never happen. **Read More**: [_Trump Publicly Calls Out Putin After Meeting With Zelensky at Pope Francis’ Funeral_](https://time.com/7280640/president-trump-zelensky-meeting-pope-francis-funeral-russia-conflict-talks/) In an April 22 [interview with TIME](https://time.com/7280114/donald-trump-2025-interview-transcript/), Trump doubled down on his previous statements and said he was “really not trolling” about making Canada the 51st state, arguing that America doesn’t “need anything from 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. In fact, we don't want them to make cars for us. We want to make our own cars. We don't need their lumber. We don't need their energy. We don't need anything from Canada,” Trump said. “And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state.” **Read More**: [_Fact-Checking What Donald Trump Said in His ‘100 Days’ Interview With TIME_](https://time.com/7280129/donald-trump-fact-check-2025-interview/) Trudeau—who announced his plans to [step down in January](https://time.com/7205012/justin-trudeau-resigns-liberal-party-leader/) as Canada’s Liberal Party leader—has previously told lawmakers and business leaders to take the threat of annexation seriously,[ with several outlets reporting](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czx82j5wd8vo) that at a Canada-U.S. Economic Summit in Toronto in February, Trudeau suggested that Trump wants access to Canada’s critical minerals. “Mr Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing," he said. As mentioned, Rubio’s new comments land a day before Canada’s April 28 federal election, which could see a new leader in place for negotiations about tariffs with the United States. Trump’s [comments have weighed heavily](https://apnews.com/article/canada-election-trump-liberals-conservatives-carney-poilievre-33ca027b048008420a84ffa16f7a5a31) on the Canadian elections thus far, with the Liberal Party utilizing a Canadian wave of nationalism that has resulted from the ongoing trade concerns. The country’s next leader could decide the fate of Canada’s critical relationship with the U.S. and how that will look moving forward. “They're going to have a new leader. We'll deal with a new leadership in Canada,” Rubio said_._ “There are many things to work cooperatively with Canada on, but we actually don't like the way they treated us when it comes to trade, and the President has made that point when he responded to the previous Prime Minister.” ## Transcript You know, I chose to enter politics because I felt we needed big changes in this country, but big changes guided by strong Canadian values. America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. Never. But these are not. These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never that will never, ever happen. But we. But we also must recognize the reality that our world has fundamentally changed. There is also, for me, as I stand before you this evening, humility in recognizing that, well, many have chosen to place your trust in me. Trust in the Liberal Party. Millions of our fellow citizens preferred a different outcome. Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over. The system of open global trade, anchored by the United States, a system that Canada has relied on since the Second World War. A system that will not perfect has helped deliver prosperity for a country for decades. When I sit down with President Trump, it will be to discuss the future economic and security relationship between two sovereign nations. And it will be with our full knowledge that we have many, many other options than the United States to build prosperity for all Canadians. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7280793/does-trump-plan-to-annex-canada-marco-rubio-51st-state-comments/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7280793/does-trump-plan-to-annex-canada-marco-rubio-51st-state-comments/"},"headline":"Ahead of Canada's Election, Secretary of State Marco Rubio Speaks Out on Trump's Plans to Annex the Country","datePublished":"2025-04-27T15:44:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:50:05.909Z","description":"Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments come on the eve of Canada's federal election.","url":"https://time.com/7280793/does-trump-plan-to-annex-canada-marco-rubio-51st-state-comments/","keywords":["Trump Administration","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd61a7af9e8dd2415/6998c61b25f3ee4bcb644953/GettyImages-2210246608.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca Schneid","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd61a7af9e8dd2415/6998c61b25f3ee4bcb644953/GettyImages-2210246608.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Meets With El Salvador President Nayib Bukele At The White House","caption":"President Trump Meets With El Salvador President Nayib Bukele At The White House","creditText":"Win McNamee—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/trump-administration/","name":"Trump Administration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7280793/does-trump-plan-to-annex-canada-marco-rubio-51st-state-comments/","name":"Ahead of Canada's Election, Secretary of State Marco Rubio Speaks Out on Trump's Plans to Annex the Country"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Mark Carney Wins Canada’s Pivotal Election","description":"Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party won Canada’s federal election on Monday, capping a stunning turnaround in fortunes fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s annexation threats and trade war.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/E7a14mhf/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-04-29T17:20:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/E7a14mhf.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7280793/does-trump-plan-to-annex-canada-marco-rubio-51st-state-comments/","duration":"PT2M3S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7280793/does-trump-plan-to-annex-canada-marco-rubio-51st-state-comments/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```