Canada's Former Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Party leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland stated on Monday that Canada has no interest in becoming part of the United States.

On January 17, Freeland officially announced her candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal Party. The party's next leader will succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister following the latter's decision to step down.

"All of a sudden, some of you have begun to cast a covetous gaze to the north. All it took was one ‘joke’ at the dinner table in Mar-a-Lago and a few social media posts, and suddenly a New York Times columnist is seriously suggesting that Canada become the 51st state… We are glad to have you as neighbors, but we have no interest in joining you," Freeland wrote in The Washington Post.

She emphasized Canadians’ pride and independence, adding that threats from the US would be ineffective. "We will not escalate, but we will not back down. If you hit us, we will hit back — and our blows will be precisely targeted," Freeland said.

In a related context, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly stated on Saturday that Canada is prepared to face off against US President-elect Donald Trump in what could be the "biggest trade war" between the two nations in decades. Trump, who will soon return to the White House, has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian imports as part of his broader economic policy targeting countries like Mexico and China.

"This would be the biggest trade war between Canada and the US in decades," Joly said during a press conference in Washington.

"The Americans would be starting a trade war against us." She emphasized that Canada is ready to apply maximum pressure, with several measures already prepared in case Trump moves forward with the tariffs, which could significantly impact Canadian consumers and jobs.

Driving the news

In December, Trump floated the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state, suggesting it could help reduce costs for Canadians.

He also joked about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being "the Governor of the Great State of Canada" during a dispute over potential US tariffs on Canadian goods. In response, the Canadian government affirmed its commitment to protecting the nation’s interests and dismissed the notion of Canada being an "American state."

On January 7, Trump clarified during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago that he was not considering military action to annex Canada but added he couldn’t provide the same assurance regarding Greenland or the Panama Canal.