Hans Lucas/Gary Hershorn/Canadian and American flag
By Joe Edwards
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What's New
A recent Leger poll has shed light on how receptive Canadians are to the idea of becoming part of the United States, after President-elect Donald Trump made headlines earlier this month following a Fox News report that he told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the nation "should become the 51st State."
The survey was conducted online among a sample of 1,520 Canadian respondents aged 18 or older on December 6-9. The results were weighted according to age, gender, mother tongue, region, education and presence of children in the household.
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The report said a probability sample of this size yields a margin of error no greater than 2.51 percent.
Why It Matters
While it seems unlikely Canada would opt to become part of the U.S., the nations are very close allies and share historic bonds.
Canada would be the most populous U.S. state were it to join the union. With a population of 40 million, residents outnumber the 39 million Californians—the U.S.' most populous state.
Canada is also the largest foreign buyer of U.S. goods, and the U.S. accounts for almost 75 percent of Canada's exports, meaning a union could have noticeable implications for trade.
What to Know
The Republican wrote on Truth Social Wednesday: "Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State. They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!!"
The Leger survey found that residents of Alberta were most likely to be open to the idea of becoming part of the U.S.—19 percent answered "Yes, I would" to the question "Would you or would you not like Canada to become the 51st state of the United States?"
However, almost three-quarters (74 percent) answered: "No, I would not."
Following closely behind was Manitoba/Saskatchewan with 18 percent. Here, 79 percent answered no.
The least receptive region was Atlantic Canada, where just 7 percent said yes, while 90 percent said no.
Overall, the report found 82 percent of Canadians would not like to become the 51st state, 13 percent said they would, and 5 percent did not know or chose not to answer.
The poll also found that male Canadians were more than twice as likely as females to answer yes.
What People Are Saying
Fox News' White House correspondent, Peter Doocy, told Special Report host Bret Baier earlier this month: "We are told that when Trudeau told President-elect Trump that new tariffs would kill the Canadian economy, Trump joked to him that if Canada can't survive without ripping off the U.S. to the tune of $100 billion a year, then maybe Canada should become the 51st state and Trudeau could become its governor."
Trudeau met Trump at his Florida resort—Mar-a-Lago. The Canadian prime minister reportedly described the talks in a positive light.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders posted in response to Fox News' report on Trump's comments earlier this month: "Trump has suggested that Canada become the 51st state in our union.
"Does that mean that we can adopt the Canadian health care system and guarantee health care to all, lower the cost of prescription drugs, and spend 50% less per capita on health care? I'm all for it."
Newsweek contacted the Trump transition team and the Canadian foreign ministry for comment via email.
What's Next
Trump has previously said that one of his first moves when he reenters the White House next year will be to introduce tariffs on goods from Canada.
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