U.S. governors push back against Trump’s 51st state threat, but are divided on tariffs

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says no elected official he's spoken to knows what U.S. President Trump's actual plan for tariffs are. Judy Trinh has the latest.

As U.S. President Donald Trump continues to double down on his desire for Canada to become the 51st state, American governors on both sides of the political aisle are pushing back against the threat that has sparked growing nationalism in Canada.

Governors are convening in Washington, D.C. for the National Governors Association winter meeting. Speaking to reporters on Friday, some were asked about Trump’s ongoing threat to annex Canada.

“I love hunting in Canada, and I love my neighbours to the north, but I’m not particularly sure that’s the world’s greatest idea,” Republican North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong said.

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear shared a similar sentiment.

“Listen, Canada is a proud country. We ought to respect that. We’ve had such a positive relationship, Beshear said. “I hope the people of Canada know that this is not how most Americans feel.”

There does, however, appear to be some division amongst governors on the utility of tariffs.

When asked if he had concerns about the negative economic impact of tariffs, Armstrong said the policy is about bringing more manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

“When you’re a free-market commodity state like North Dakota, we like good trade agreements, but we also want to reset to make sure the United States is being treated fairly,” Armstrong said. “So, we’ll work with the administration if we think they’re detrimental, but we don’t know yet.”

Armstrong also called tariffs “a negotiating tool.”

Beshear, meanwhile, says he opposes tariffs and is concerned they will “raise prices for both Americans and Canadians.”

“This is not who we are. This might be the approach of one president, but we’re much bigger than a president in this country,” Beshear added.

The Kentucky governor also said he has relayed his concerns to the Trump administration.

“I’ve been able to communicate it to different parts of the administration. I’ve certainly spoken publicly about it, both on United States and Canadian media. In the end, tariffs are a tax,” Beshear said.

Trump has announced several rounds of tariffs on Canadian goods, including his initial executive order imposing 25 per cent levies on all imports and 10 per cent on energy, which come into effect as soon as March 4. He later announced there will be additional 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum starting March 12.

To defend his use of tariffs, Trump has claimed a US$200 billion trade deficit with Canada. But according to Statistics Canada, when trade in goods and services are combined, Canada recorded an overall trade surplus of $94.4 billion with the United States in 2023.

‘We don’t know what he wants’: Ford

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston were both in Washington on Friday to meet with several governors – including Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp – to discuss the ongoing tariff threat.

All 13 premiers were also in Washington just last week and met with two members of Trump’s administration at the White House.

Asked if they are making any progress with U.S. officials in preventing tariffs, Ford said Canadian concerns are “on their radar.”

Ford added that most U.S. officials don’t know what Trump wants before the upcoming tariff deadline on March 4.

“The ironic thing … no one down here knows what he wants, and we don’t know what he wants. Let’s sit down and negotiate,” Ford said. “What’s shocking to me is how misinformed a lot of elected officials (are) down here, how critical Canada plays in their economy.”

Despite the trade tension, Houston said he believes the relationship between Canada and the U.S. will endure.

“This is a relationship that has survived a couple hundred years, depression, wars, all kinds of highs and lows in the relationship,” Houston said. “I believe we’ll get through this, and we’ll just do everything we can to make sure we get through it faster.”

No ‘explicit assurances’ tariffs can be avoided

Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman has been regularly meeting with American officials on the potential imposition of tariffs.

In an interview airing Sunday on CTV’s Question Period, Hillman said she has not “received any explicit assurances” Canada can escape the tariffs slated for next month, despite the federal government’s latest measures to address border security and drug trafficking.

“I think that what happens is we provide the information. We have received positive recognition of not only the efforts that we’ve made, but the results that are flowing from those efforts,” Hillman said. “But all of the people that are responsible for taking this information in and then briefing the president on it are not going to speak for the president.

Earlier this month, Canada got reprieve for at least 30 days from Trump’s threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports after making new commitments to secure the shared border. Those new measures include appointing a “fentanyl czar” and listing drug cartels as terrorist entities.

New data, meanwhile, shows that fentanyl seizures are decreasing. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, fentanyl seizures from Canada dropped 97 per cent between December 2024 and January 2025.

When asked by Question Period host Vassy Kapelos whether action at the border is making any meaningful change in negotiations, Hillman said there is a clear distinction between border-related tariffs and Trump’s broader economic agenda.

“On the economic side, he’s seeking to use (tariffs) for achieving a trade rebalancing with the world. He’s seeking to use it to attract investment into the United States and also potentially to raise revenue for some of his other objectives,” Hillman said. “So I think that we need to understand that this is probably a tool that will remain interesting to him for his entire tenure as it was last time.”

On his first day in office on Jan. 20, Trump announced his “America First Trade Policy” in an executive order, calling for a study into alleged unfair trade practices due April 1.

With files from CTV News’ Judy Trinh