Trump Summons Canada’s MAGA Groupies for ‘51st State’ Night
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the leader of Canada’s most conservative province, said she had “friendly and constructive” conversations with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
She was just one of several prominent Canadian conservatives to make the pilgrimage to Trump’s Florida club over the weekend.
Since taking office in 2022, Smith—a prolific COVID-19 conspiracist who also flirted with chemtrails—has jousted with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, especially over environmental policies that she has argued threaten the economy of her oil-rich province.
Smith’s government even passed a provincial act that says the province can ignore federal laws it deems unconstitutional—one which her conservative predecessor blasted as a “full-frontal attack on the rule of law.”
Over the last 24 hours I had the opportunity to meet President @realdonaldtrump at Mar-a-Lago last night and at his golf club this morning.
We had a friendly and constructive conversation during which I emphasized the mutual importance of the U.S. - Canadian energy… pic.twitter.com/TPgCB8kATP— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) January 12, 2025
That doesn’t mean she is open to Trump’s statements that America’s northern neighbor should become the 51st state, however. In a post recapping her time at Mar-a-Lago, she emphasized Canada’s “independence” and energy exports to America as key topics the two discussed.
“The United States and Canada are both proud and independent nations with one of the most important security alliances on earth and the largest economic partnership in history,” Smith wrote. “We need to preserve our independence while we grow this critical partnership for the benefit of Canadians and Americans for generations to come.”
Smith was one of at least three prominent conservative Canadians who were spotted in the Sunshine State this weekend.
Among the others were psychologist-turned-self-help guru Jordan Peterson and Shark Tank host Kevin O’Leary—both vocal supporters of the president-elect.
An Instagram post by Paul L. Palandjian, the CEO of O’Leary’s ventury capital firm, showed the three posing together at the Palm Beach resort with the caption “Trudeau fan club.”