As U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for Canada to become the 51st state – claiming a US$200 billion trade deficit with Canada – Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand says the federal government is “open” to renegotiating the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) before 2026.
“We are very open to having that conversation as early as the Trump administration would like,” Anand said in an interview with CTV’s Power Play on Thursday. “As I said, the world’s most successful trading relationship is based on agreements over successive years, and the renegotiation of this free trade agreement between our two countries is one of the most important items on our agenda.”
There are questions about whether Trump wants to push for an early renegotiation of CUSMA, which was signed in 2018 during Trump’s first term to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). CUSMA is set for review next year.
A study into alleged unfair trade practices, which is part of Trump’s “America First Trade Policy,” is also underway and due April 1.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Trump escalated his global trade war by tasking his team with devising a plan to impose reciprocal tariffs on every country that imposes duties on U.S. imports. It’s unclear how this latest move could impact Canada’s supply-managed industries like the dairy market.
For years, Americans, including Trump, have voiced discontent over access to the Canadian market, despite Canada agreeing to allow U.S. dairy farmers access to about 3.5 per cent of the domestic market as part of CUSMA.
Asked by CTV News host Mike Le Couteur whether Trump’s threat of reciprocal tariffs is targeting industries like the dairy and poultry market, Anand said Canada will defend its interests.
“We look forward to going to the table with the U.S. administration to negotiate the points that they are making in the various approaches that you mentioned,” Anand said. “But make no mistake, Canada, as a sovereign country, will always stand up for Canadian businesses and Canadian workers and the Canadian agricultural sector as well.”
Last week, International Trade Minister Mary Ng told CTV’s Power Play that Canada will not be making concessions on supply management.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, meanwhile, says “there should be an openness” to starting conversations around reviewing CUSMA.
“Specifically, what I should be pointing to is a review,” Kinew said in an interview with CTV’s Power Play on Thursday. “So maybe it’s a bit more about the details, like the U.S. brings forward a few items that they’re concerned with. Canada, we’ve definitely got items that we want to bring to the table.”
Trump: Canada a ‘very serious contender’ to be 51st state
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Trump once again pointed to his concerns over a trade deficit with Canada.
“Why would we pay US$200 billion a year in subsidies to Canada when they’re not a state? You do that for a state, but you don’t do that for somebody else’s country,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “So, I think Canada is going to be a very serious contender to be our 51st state.”
But according to Statistics Canada, when trade in goods and services are combined, Canada recorded an overall trade surplus of $94.4 billion with the United States in 2023.
Reacting to Trump’s latest comments, Anand said Canada will not be annexed.
“Canada will never become the 51st state. Canada is a sovereign, free and strong country, and that will be the case now and forever. Period,” Anand said.
Pushback against Trump’s annexation threat also came up during a last-minute meeting at the White House on Wednesday between Canada’s premiers and two officials from Trump’s administration.
“We had frank conversations about the 51st state comment where we underlined that that was a non-starter. That was obviously consistent among all the premiers,” B.C. Premier David Eby told reporters on Wednesday after the meeting.
But in a post to X, Trump’s deputy chief of staff James Blair wrote, “To be clear, we never agreed that Canada would not be the 51st state. We only agreed to share Premier Eby’s comments.”
Despite that response, Kinew said it’s important for Canadian officials not to overreact.
“It’s clear that this new administration is changing the U.S., and as a result, that’s going to change the relationship with our country, with Canada,” Kinew said. “So we need to be responsive, but we also need to be calm.”
Last week, Canada received a 30-day reprieve on Trump’s 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, with a lower 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy, after the federal government bolstered its $1.3 billion border plan to address the president’s concerns over illegal migration and fentanyl. Those tariffs have been pushed back until at least March 4.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Trump signed executive orders to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, including Canadian products, starting March 12. But a White House official has said on background that that tariff would be stacked on top of other levies on Canadian goods, equalling to a 50 per cent total tariff on steel and aluminum.
