Trump: Canada 'considering' free Golden Dome for its statehood

President Trump said on Tuesday that Canada is “considering” his offer of joining the United States as the 51st state in exchange for no-cost protection by the proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system.

“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,” Trump wrote Tuesday in a post on Truth Social.

“They are considering the offer!” the president added.

Canadian officials, as of Tuesday evening, had not addressed Trump’s latest remarks, but Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has repeatedly said that his country would not join the U.S. under any circumstances.

Carney’s recent election victory is seen by many as fueled by his rejection of Trump’s musings about Canada becoming the 51st state.

Trump last week announced that the U.S. had officially selected the architecture for the Golden Dome, a missile defense system that would create a network of satellites to detect, track and potentially intercept incoming ballistic missiles. 

The project, which Trump claimed would cost $175 billion to build and be “fully operational” within three years, would also include Canada in its safety net.

“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,” Trump said at the White House.

Carney’s office confirmed last week that there were “active discussions” between the two countries on existing and new security programs such as Golden Dome, the BBC reported.

“Canadians gave the prime minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States,” Audrey Champoux, a spokesperson for Carney, told the BBC.

“To that end, the prime minister and his ministers are having wide-ranging and constructive discussions with their American counterparts. These discussions naturally include strengthening [North American Aerospace Defense Command] and related initiatives such as the Golden Dome,” she said.