On Friday, according to a Fox News report, US President-elect Donald Trump joked about Canada possibly becoming the 51st state of the United States during a dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

The conversation reportedly happened after Trump proposed a 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports if the two countries didn’t take steps to reduce migration and drug trafficking into the US. They also talked about the US trade deficit with Canada, which Trump claimed was over $100 billion. Trudeau said the tariffs would "kill the Canadian economy" during the meeting. Trump allegedly responded by joking that Canada should become the 51st state in the US, with Trudeau as its governor if it couldn't afford the tariffs. According to Fox News, the comment caused Trudeau and others present to laugh nervously.

In the wake of Trump's remark, Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who was present at the dinner, elaborated that “the president was telling jokes. The president was teasing us. It was, of course, in no way a serious comment,” according to the Associated Press (AP). LeBlanc added, “The fact that the president is able to joke like that with us indicates good relations.” On Tuesday, Trump shared an AI-generated photo of himself standing atop a mountain beside Canada's flag with the message, "Oh Canada!" which seemed to spark further conversation. "Less than one per cent of migrants entering the United States irregularly come from Canada, and 0.2% of the fentanyl entering the United States originates in Canada," Trudeau said in a speech to the Canadian Parliament on Tuesday. 

In an effort to combat migration and drug trafficking, Canadian authorities have declared plans to station more law enforcement officers, helicopters, and drones along the border, according to the AP. Canada's ambassador to the US, Kristen Hillman, meantime, emphasised the significance of placing conversations about the trade deficit in context. “We are one-tenth the size of the United States, so a balanced trade deal would mean, per capita, we are buying 10 times more from the US than they are buying from us. If that’s his metric, we will certainly engage on that,” Hillman told AP. Canada sends 77% of its exports to the US, so the proposed tariffs could seriously impact its economy. A senior Canadian official recently told the AP that Canada might also impose tariffs on certain US products if Trump goes ahead with his plan.