Security Adviser Mike Waltz Confronted on Trump's Plans to Annex Canada

National security adviser Mike Waltz was confronted on NBC News' Meet the Press on Sunday about President Donald Trump's desire to annex Canada.

Newsweek has reached out to Canadian Foreign Affairs via email for comment on Sunday.

Why It Matters

Canada is one of several foreign entities that Trump has said the United States should acquire, along with resource-rich Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, and the Panama Canal. The president has also suggested that Canada could become the 51st state of America.

The leaders of Canada and Greenland have been dismissive of joining the U.S.

What To Know

Waltz was asked by Meet the Press' host Kristen Welker if Trump is serious about planning to annex Canada following reported remarks from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in which he told a closed-door meeting of business leaders last week that the Trump administration "keep[s] talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state."

Waltz said while he doesn't think the president has "any plans to invade Canada," he believes many Canadians "do not like the last 10 years of liberal, progressive governance in Trudeau."

"I think the Canadian people, many of them, would love to join the United States...What you're seeing is a reassertion of American leadership in the Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic all the way down to the Panama Canal," he added. "And that's what we're talking about, from Greenland, to Arctic security to the Panama Canal coming back under the United States. America has avoided our own hemisphere—where we have the energy, the food and the critical minerals—for way too long, and you're seeing a reassertion of President Trump's leadership."

In a Sunday interview with Fox News' chief political anchor Bret Baier, Trump responded to Trudeau's remarks stating that making Canada the 51st state is a real thing.

"Yeah, it is. I think Canada would be much better off being the 51st state, because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada, and I'm not going to let that happen too much. Why are we paying $200 billion a year, essentially in subsidy to Canada? Now, if they're a 51st state, I don't mind doing it."

Trudeau announced his resignation as prime minister early last month after members of his own Liberal Party urged him to quit as polls show the ruling party will lose badly to the opposition Conservatives in the next election. Canada's next election must take place by late October and Trudeau's resignation could lead to calls for it to be held quickly to ensure a new government is in place.

Trump first floated the idea of annexing Canada during a November dinner at Mar-a-Lago with Trudeau. In January, Trump escalated the rhetoric, asserting he would rely on "economic force" rather than military means to integrate Canada—a founding North American Treaty Organization (NATO) member and vital trade partner—into the U.S.

This comes after Trump agreed on Monday to pause planned 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports for 30 days after Trudeau announced new border security measures and anti-drug trafficking commitments.

Tariffs are taxes on imported goods, typically paid by the importing businesses, which can then pass costs onto consumers through higher prices. The importing business could be any American company that purchases goods from foreign suppliers and brings them into the country for resale, manufacturing, or distribution.

Tariffs are often used to protect domestic industries by making foreign goods more expensive and encouraging consumers to buy locally.

The temporary suspension averts an immediate trade confrontation between the U.S. and Canada, which exchanged $746 billion in goods in 2022. Trump had announced the tariffs last week, citing concerns about fentanyl trafficking across the northern border. Canada had warned it would implement retaliatory 25 percent tariffs on $155 billion in U.S. goods if Trump's tariffs took effect.

What People Are Saying

Pierre Poilievre, the leader of Canada's Conservative Party and favorite to replace Trudeau as prime minister, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in January: "Canada will never be the 51st state. Period. We are a great and independent country. We are the best friend to the U.S. We spent billions of dollars and hundreds of lives helping Americans retaliate against Al-Qaeda's 9/11 attacks. We supply the U.S. with billions of dollars of high-quality and totally reliable energy well below market prices. We buy hundreds of billions of dollars of American goods."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a January appearance on MSNBC's Inside with Jen Psaki: "This isn't out of the blue that he's doing this, but my focus has to be not on something that he's talking about that will not ever happen, but more on something that might well happen. If he does choose to go forward with tariffs that raise the cost of just about everything for American citizens, then on top of that, we're going to have to have a robust response to that."

President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: "Canada has agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border... I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured."

What Happens Next

Despite Trump's remarks, the chances of Canada actually becoming part of the U.S. in the foreseeable future are remote at best. But the president's escalating rhetoric could signal a coming decline in U.S.-Canada relations, with possible tariffs on all foreign goods likely to have a major effect on trade.

The 30-day pause provides time for both countries to negotiate what Trump described as a "final economic deal."

Update 2/9/25, 4:03 p.m. ET: This article was updated with Trump's comments.