Michael Bublé jabs Donald Trump over talks of turning Canada into U.S. state

Michael Bublé took a swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump during a patriotic opening monologue at the 2025 Juno Awards, declaring that his native country was “not for sale” amid growing tensions between the U.S. and Canada.

“Folks, we’re one of a kind. We are beautiful. We are the greatest nation on Earth,” the host of Canada’s version of the Grammys said from the Rogers Arena stage in Vancouver on Sunday night. “And we are not for sale.”

Amid an escalating tariff war, Trump has been vocal about his desire to annex Canada and turn it into a U.S. state, prompting condemnation from Canadian leaders. On stage, Bublé’s nationalism was on full display. “I’m a hometown kid who never left,” he said. “And as I stand here and look out at my fellow artists in a sold-out arena with millions watching at home, I’m proud to be Canadian.”

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“Bottom line, we love this country,” Bublé continued. “And when you love something, you show up for it. And we always will. We will because we’re formidable, because we’re fearless because we don’t just acknowledge our differences, we embrace them. Because they don’t just make us stronger, they make us a hell of a lot more interesting.”

Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office earlier this month, Trump said, “Canada only works as a state,” adding, “We don’t need anything they have. As a state, it would be one of the great states anywhere . . . If you look at a map, they drew an artificial line right through it, between Canada and the U.S. Just a straight, artificial line. Somebody did it a long time ago, many, many decades ago. Makes no sense.”

“But why should we subsidize another country for $200 billion?” he continued. “Again, we don’t need their lumber, we don’t need their energy. We have more than they do. We don’t need anything. We don’t need their cars. I’d much rather make the cars here. And there’s not a thing that we need. Now, there will be a little disruption, but it won’t be very long. But they need us. We really don’t need them. And we have to do this.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is among the political leaders to have hit back against Trump. “What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that’ll make it easier to annex us,” he said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a separate interview with CNBC, “Canada is not for sale and will never be the 51st state. Our supply sector is so intertwined, you can’t unscramble an egg.”