A majority of Americans don't see Canada as a 51st state - unless that is what we wanted

By Staff

March 12th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

60% of Americans say they have no interest in Canada joining, 32% say only if Canada wants to

U.S. President Donald Trump continues to escalate his trade war and annexation rhetoric this week, leaving economists, commentators, and even supporters wondering about his motivations.

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Trump’s repeated threats to make Canada the 51^st state out of line with the views and opinions of his own country and voters. Asked about this idea, three-in-five Americans and 44 per cent of Trump voters say they have “no interest” in seeing Canada join the U.S. Further, one-in-three Americans and 42 per cent of Trump voters say they would only be interested if the idea was supported by Canadians.

It isn’t.

For the second time in 2025, Angus Reid Institute finds nine-in-10 Canadians saying they would vote ‘no’ to joining the United States if given the option.

Amid continued threats, more than half of Canadians now think Trump is serious about this (54%). In January, just one-in-three (32%) felt this way. South of the border there has also been in increase in the proportion who feel Trump is serious, but to a smaller extent, rising from 22 to 34 per cent.

One notable domestic dynamic at play is the higher number of current Conservative Party supporters who would vote ‘yes’ on this question, and the implications of the expected federal election. At present, one-in-five would-be CPC voters say they would vote yes, compared to almost zero Liberal (2%), NDP (3%), and Bloc Québécois (1%) voters. Angus Reid Institute asked those Conservative supporters if they would change their vote to join the U.S. in the event of a Liberal majority in the next federal election and found a 12-point increase in yes voters, up to 33 per cent.