"Canada was meant to be our 51st state", Trump tells Fox News VIDEO

U.S. President Donald Trump declared that Canada should have become the 51st state of the United States, highlighting the $200 billion subsidy the U.S. provides to its northern neighbour every year.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump reflected on his often critical stance on U.S.-Canada relations, saying "Canada was meant to be our 51st state, because we subsidize Canada by $200 billion a year. We don't need their cars, we don’t need their lumber. We have a lot of lumber. We don’t need their energy." 

The U.S. President also described Canada as the "worst state" he has ever negotiated with, adding that, despite Canada’s minimal financial contributions to NATO, the U.S. continues to defend the country, Caliber.Az reports.

Trump’s comments come as part of his long-standing criticism of trade practices with Canada. He has repeatedly argued that many Canadians support the idea of their country becoming part of the United States, although Canadian leaders have rejected such proposals outright.

New Prime Minister Mark Carney, as well as former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have both emphasized that Canada will never enter into any form of union with the U.S.

In related developments, on March 11, Trump announced plans to increase tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada to 50%. This decision follows Canada's move to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. electricity imports in response to previous trade tensions.

By Khagan Isayev