Trump wants to merge Canada with America, is this possible?

Recently, important information about a meeting between Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau came to light. Based on the people present during the meeting, the media claimed that to avoid possible tariffs on Canada, Trump had asked Trudeau to make Canada the 51st state of America and himself to become its governor.

At that time, this was said in a light-hearted manner, however, according to the report, after hearing this from Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau laughed nervously because he probably had nothing to say on this issue in front of the future president of the world's most powerful country. But recently, Trump has once again addressed Trudeau as the Governor of the 'Great State of Canada' in his social media post.

Is it possible for Canada to merge with the US?

The National Post spoke to two experts on political and constitutional law from Canada and the US on this issue. Both experts have taken a non-partisan, comprehensive approach and explained how this joke of Donald Trump can turn into reality.

It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada. I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all!…

— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) December 10, 2024

Canadian expert Gregory Tardy spent 11 years as a legal adviser to Elections Canada and 15 years as a senior parliamentary adviser to the House of Commons. He has taught at law schools in Ontario and Quebec and is an expert in the interrelationships of law, policy, and politics. American expert Roderick M. Hills, Jr. is a professor at New York University Law School in New York City who specializes in constitutional law, with an emphasis on federalism and intergovernmental relations, and the autonomy of state and local governments.

Canadian expert told 3 possibilities.

Gregory Tardy says that whether what Trump is saying is a joke or not, it is possible to do this and since both countries are bound by the rule of law, the first and most likely way to unite the two countries or include Canada in America would be through constitutional and legal means.

He said, 'It seems to me that if either the whole of Canada or some of its parts want to join the US, they will have to go through Section 41 of the Constitution Act of 1982. This means that in order to join a particular region, there will have to be a consensus in the Senate, the House and the Assemblies of all 10 states. This will already tell whether it will be possible to do so or not.

However, Tardy says that what would be even more difficult is deciding to join the US or any other region. If we assume that it has been decided that Canada wants to join the US along with all or part of its provinces, then this is a completely different process.

This is based on Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the US Constitution, which essentially says that new territories can be admitted into the country and become states by a simple vote of the US Congress. For example, on August 21, 1959, Hawaii held a statewide referendum and then became a US state by federal law.

What are the options other than the constitutional path?

Gregory Tardy has suggested another possibility of Canada's merger with the US which is quite unlikely. He said that a territory can also be included in the US by purchasing it. For example, many US states were purchased in the Louisiana Purchase, and in this way the states west of the Mississippi first became territories and then states.

He reminded that when Trump talked about buying Greenland during his first term as President, everyone thought he had gone crazy. Although theoretically it is possible. But Canada is not for sale, in fact no part of Canada is for sale. So this is the most impossible scenario.

According to Gregory Tardy, the third possibility is a direct attack by the US on Canada, this too is very unlikely. He said that in upstate New York, near Ottawa, the US has the 10th Mountain Division, which is the elite troops of the US Army. Gardy says that it would not take much time for the US military to capture Ottawa, but the chances of this happening are very low.

What do American experts say?

On the other hand, American expert Roderick M. Hills says that historically, America has done this before. A country which was previously independent has been annexed as a state; America annexed Texas in a similar way in 1845.

Hills cited Tardy's constitutional path, saying that the US Congress could admit new states into the country. But no new state shall be created or erected within the jurisdiction of another state, nor shall any state be formed by the union of two or more states or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the respective states and of Congress.

However, he said that this proposal made by Trump in a joking manner is not new, this offer has been made to Canada before as well. During the revolution against the British Empire, the Continental Congress had actually invited Canada to join the US as a state. But even then Canada did not accept it. However, he has described the possibility of whether something like this can really happen as completely absurd.