Canadians and Trump critics were definitely not laughing at the president’s latest remarks. “Not going to happen. Not now, not ever,” Aileen Machell, deputy chief of staff to British Columbia’s Premier David Eby, posted on X. “In this time of global uncertainty, one thing is certain — we will never be the 51st state.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state is "a real thing" and is linked to the country’s rich natural resources, local media reported. Trudeau’s comments to business and labor leaders in a closed-door session were mistakenly carried by a loudspeaker, Canada’s public broadcaster CBC reported.