A new poll shows that more than one-third of Canadians back a plan to let three U.S. states—California, Oregon, and Washington—join Canada.
Newsweek asked Canadian politician Elizabeth May, who came up with the idea, to comment on it through the Green Party’s press email.
Why it’s important
Since he became president, Donald Trump has said many times that the U.S. could take Canada and make it the 51st state. Because of what he said and his support for putting tariffs on Canadian imports, ties between Washington and its northern neighbor have become tense.
What You Need to Know
May is the leader of the Canadian Green Party. In January, he told reporters that those three states might become Canadian provinces instead of joining the U.S. She said that everyone in the three states, which are all thought to be safe for Democrats, would get health care and gun rules would be made stricter.
“Hey Donald, do you want to make a deal?” Do you really think we want to be the 51st state? But maybe California would like to be the eleventh state. What do you think? California? Oreg… It was Washington, she asked.
Even though it’s very unlikely that such a change would happen, a new poll from YouGov that surveyed 1,030 Canadian adults from January 22 to January 28 and came out on Friday says that 35% of those surveyed would back the idea.
Residents of British Columbia, which is directly north of Washington, were more likely than not to back the idea. Fourteen percent said they’d let the three states join, while eleven percent were against it.
Only 25% of people in Quebec supported the idea, which was the lowest percentage of any province.
Americans, including people who lived in those states, were less likely to support the plan. 29% of people who live in those three states said they would support those states joining Canada, but only 23% of Americans said they would.
The idea wasn’t polarized along political lines in the United States. Twenty-seven percent of people who voted for Kamala Harris as Vice President agreed, while 26 percent of people who voted for Trump said they would help those three states join Canada.
The Things People Say
As he spoke to the press on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “Let’s be very clear.” The 51st state can’t be brought up in conversation. It won’t happen ever. But we need to pay attention to what the president says and keep that in mind as we continue to fight for Canada.
Trump said at a press meeting on Thursday, “Canada, their taxes would go down a lot.” It would make them feel a lot safer. Canada had amazing things happen. Canada is not a state, so why should we give them $200 billion a year in aid? That’s okay for a state, but not for someone else’s country.
What Comes Next
A lot of experts don’t think that the countries’ lines will change in the near future. Because of tariff threats, relations between the two countries are likely to stay tense.
Last weekend, Trump put new tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel. However, from February 3 to February 15, the 25% tariffs on most Canadian goods were put on hold for 30 days.
Leave a Comment