Ontario Premier Doug Ford has never been one to shy away from a confrontation, but his latest sparring match with former US President Donald Trump has taken the Canada-US dynamic into uncharted territory. At a press conference on Monday, Ford fired back at Trump’s provocative suggestion that Canada should become the 51st state, offering a counterproposal that caught everyone off guard.
“To the president, I’ll make him a counteroffer,” Ford said, visibly irritated by the question. “How about if we buy Alaska? And we’ll throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time? You know, it’s not realistic.”

Ford’s remarks were in response to Trump’s renewed push for unification with Canada, which the former president claimed would benefit both nations economically and militarily. Ford, however, was having none of it.
“He may be joking, but under my watch, that will never, ever happen,” Ford declared, emphasizing his commitment to protecting Canadian sovereignty.

Ford’s fiery history of defiance
This isn’t the first time Ford has locked horns with Trump. In 2024, the Ontario Premier threatened to cut off electricity exports to over a million Americans and ban American-made beer in retaliation for Trump’s proposed 25% tariffs on Canadian goods.
“If they come at us, we have to stand up for Canadians,” Ford said at the time. “It would cut off the lights to a million-and-a-half Americans.”
Canada is the largest exporter of energy to the US, with states like Michigan and New York heavily reliant on Ontario’s electricity. Ford’s bold threats underscored the delicate interdependence between the two nations.
Trudeau’s take: A snowball’s chance in hell
Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also weighed in on Trump’s 51st state proposal. In a fiery post on X (formerly Twitter), Trudeau dismissed the idea outright:
“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,” he wrote. “Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.”
Trudeau’s rebuttal came as Trump ramped up his rhetoric on Truth Social, claiming that many Canadians “LOVE being the 51st state” and that merging the two nations would eliminate tariffs and bolster security against Russia and China.
Trump’s grand vision
Trump’s ambitions don’t stop at Canada. The president-elect has also revived his interest in purchasing Greenland, a move he first floated during his previous term. On Monday, he posted a meme on Truth Social showing a map of North America with both Canada and Greenland covered in the American flag, captioned “Oh, Canada!”
“We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!” Trump proclaimed, while his son, Donald Trump Jr., toured Greenland wearing a MAGA hat.