Donald Trump Rules Out Annexing Canada as 51st State

President Donald Trump has privately ruled out the invasion or annexation of Canada to make it the 51st U.S. state. In a December 2025 interview at Mar-a-Lago with royal biographer Robert Hardman, Trump acknowledged that Canada's 200 years of history and national identity—which he called the "Oh, Canada thing"—could not be undone within the remaining three-and-a-half years of his term.

Trump's shift in rhetoric reportedly follows a discussion regarding how annexation would affect King Charles III, Canada's head of state. Trump questioned whether Canadians still recognized the King and expressed high regard for the monarch, which sources suggest tempered his desire for acquisition. During the conversation, Trump criticized Canadian politicians as "terrible" and argued that the shared border should have been drawn 50 miles further north.

Despite these concessions, Trump previously shared AI-generated maps of an annexed Canada and referred to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as the "future Governor of Canada." Prime Minister Carney has consistently rejected any possibility of Canada becoming part of the United States, stating the country would "never, ever" be part of the U.S. and is "not for sale."

King Charles III and Queen Camilla are scheduled to visit the United States from April 27-30, 2026, to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.