A new offer from the U.S. president is making waves on both sides of the border, stirring debate over the future of North American defense and diplomacy.
President Donald Trump has proposed that Canada become the 51st U.S. state — a move he claims would exempt the country from contributing $61 billion to the United States’ Golden Dome missile defense system.
Donald Trump walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 23, 2025 | Source: Getty Images
The proposal was made public on May 28, 2025, in a Truth Social post, where Trump linked Canadian statehood to cost savings under the U.S.-led defense initiative.
“I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer! [sic]” he wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 17, 2025 | Source: Getty Images
Trump previously discussed the matter during a May 7 meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House. At the time, he outlined potential benefits of statehood, including lower taxes and access to U.S. military protection. Carney rejected the idea with a real estate analogy.
He said, “You know, from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale.” Trump replied, “That’s true.” Carney continued, “We’re sitting in one right now — you know, Buckingham Palace, that you visited.” Trump repeated, “That’s true.”
President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney sit side by side during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House, on May 7, 2025 | Source: YouTube/nypost
Carney continued, “Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale. It won’t be for sale ever. But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney gestures while speaking during his meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, as Trump listens, posted on May 7, 2025 | Source: YouTube/nypost
The proposal came just days after Trump formally announced the Golden Dome for America, a large-scale missile defense program designed to protect the U.S. from long-range missile attacks using technologies based on land, sea, and space.
President Donald Trump announces the Golden Dome missile defense system during a televised address from the Oval Office, on May 21, 2025 | Source: YouTube/AssociatedPress
“In the campaign I promised the American people that I would build a cutting-edge missile defense shield to protect our homeland from the threat of foreign missile attack and that’s what we’re doing today,” Trump said during the May 21 announcement.
He added that Canada had expressed interest in the system and would be part of future discussions. “Canada has called us, and they want to be a part of it, so we’ll be talking to them. They want to have protection also, so, as usual, we help Canada to the best we can,” Trump explained.
According to Trump, the system’s design has been selected, and deployment is underway. The program is expected to be fully operational before the end of his current term and will cost an estimated $175 billion.
He compared the initiative to earlier U.S. support for Israel’s defense development. “We helped Israel with theirs, and it was very successful. And now we have technology that’s even far advanced from that,” he shared.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 17, 2025 | Source: Getty Images
Israel’s defense architecture, developed in partnership with the United States beginning in 1985, includes the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow missile systems.
These layered defenses intercept threats across short-range, medium-range, and long-range distances, and were funded jointly by Israeli and U.S. agencies, including the Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
On May 20, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described the Golden Dome as a national investment aimed at countering advanced and evolving missile threats. “The Department of Defense (DoD) welcomes President Trump’s announcement regarding the Golden Dome for America, a next-generation missile defense shield,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth noted that in recent decades, U.S. adversaries have significantly advanced their missile capabilities, developing long-range systems such as ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles that can reach the homeland and carry either nuclear or conventional warheads.
He said the Golden Dome would enhance current defense systems by incorporating “next-generation technology” to address a fast-changing and complex threat environment.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth points to a Golden Dome missile defense diagram during a presentation in the Oval Office on May 20, 2025 | Source: Getty Images
According to the DoD, the system will be implemented in phases and developed in coordination with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), and the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM).
The goal is to ensure real-time interoperability with existing U.S. air, sea, and space-based defenses.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during an announcement about the Golden Dome missile defense system in the Oval Office at the White House on May 20, 2025 | Source: Getty Images
In Canada, the statehood proposal prompted an official response. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Carney rejected the idea and reaffirmed Canada’s independence.
“[The prime minister] has been clear at every opportunity, including in his conversations with President Trump, that Canada is an independent sovereign nation, and it will remain one,” the spokesperson told ABC News on May 29.
While ruling out statehood, the spokesperson emphasized Canada’s ongoing negotiations with the United States. “Canadians gave the Prime Minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States,” the statement said.
As part of that effort, the spokesperson said the Prime Minister and his cabinet are engaged in broad and constructive talks with U.S. officials, including discussions on strengthening NORAD and cooperating on initiatives like the Golden Dome.
Carney reiterated that Canada’s expanded role in security partnerships would include stronger contributions to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“My government is committed for a step change in our investment in Canadian security and our partnership,” Carney said. “I’ll say this as well that the president has revitalized international security, revitalized NATO, and us playing our full weight in NATO, and that will be part of it.”
