The Constitution's Admissions Clause, Article IV, Section 3, states: "New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.".
While not addressing Canada as the 51st state directly, polling last year from Gallup and the Pew Research Center shows that Americans overwhelmingly have a positive view of Canada – and that while Canadians view the US more positively than negatively, their view may be a little more muted.
Any measure approving a new state that clears Congress would also have to be signed into law by the president – though Trump, a Republican, has made it clear he'd do so to admit Canada.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump ally, joked on X when all 50 states certified Trump's Electoral College victory last month, "They skipped Canada.
Initial reactions from Canada dismissed the idea as a joke, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau firmly asserting that Canada would never become part of the US.
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