Trump renews '51st state' rhetoric as LeBlanc heads to Washington

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, and Canada’s chief trade negotiator Janice Charette are heading to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his calls to make Canada the “51st state” in a post shared to Truth Social.

LeBlanc and Charette will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, whose team met with the Mexican trade team last week and demanded a change to CUSMA’s rules of origin requirements.

Yesterday, LeBlanc’s office sent a letter to Greer and his Mexican counterpart, Marcelo Ebrard, with Canada’s recommendations for CUSMA. It said Canada would like to see the agreement renewed for another 16 years in order to sustain North American economic growth while pointing to the huge level of trilateral trade, which is reaching $1.9 trillion in 2026, a 32 per cent jump since CUSMA was created.

Just hours before the Canadian duo’s arrival in the U.S. capital, however, Trump posted his fiery reminder of his intentions on Truth Social : “51st State!” his post read, linking to a Bloomberg report about Canada’s technical recession. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra then shared the post on his X account this morning , hours before the LeBlanc-Charette-Greer meeting.

In response, Prime Minister Mark Carney defended the country’s position today, saying his government was “laying the foundations” for a stronger Canadian economy.

“We see some weakness in part because of clear decisions by the government,” he told reporters in Ottawa, avoiding the term “recession”.

He pointed to the federal government’s rollback of immigration, which has impacted the country’s population growth, as well as the tightening of government spending.

“There’s some other choppiness in terms of how investment is happening, but we’re also seeing at the same time the foundations coming into place, settling in for that stronger, more resilient economy.”

When it comes to the pace of trade talks with the U.S. and the fact Mexico appears further along than Canada, Carney pointed to how the list of technical issues the Trump administration has with its southern neighbour is longer than its one with Canada.

He says Canada was focused on what Carney called “more fundamental structural issues” like the Section 232 tariffs Trump applied to steel and aluminum, as well as other levies charged on autos and forest products.

“We’re looking to determine whether there’s a possibility of a new partnership there.”

The Mexican team was told on Friday that Trump wants them to agree to a deal where CUSMA-qualifying autos would see 82 per cent of the vehicles made in North America, with 50 per cent of that value produced solely in the United States. There was no mention of Canadian content.

“The United States concluded discussions with the goals of reducing the trade deficit with Mexico and strengthening American supply chains,” USTR said via a statement after the meeting, noting that the White House “continues to emphasize the importance of ensuring the Agreement benefits U.S. manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, workers, service suppliers, and businesses of all sizes, and of addressing free-riding from third countries.”

Mexico has not said whether it will agree to the change — talks between the two sides continue in Washington in mid-June. But if President Claudia Sheinbaum’s team bows to this stipulation, trade experts fear the White House could simply present Ottawa with a take-it-or-leave-it offer.

While news of LeBlanc and Charette’s trip dropped last week — before the 82 per cent demand — the U.S.-Mexico talks have added a new sense of urgency for Ottawa to get the U.S. and Canadian trade teams talking again. The last time LeBlanc and Charette met with Greer was in early March.

More to come.

National Post

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