The Canadian flag is blown by wind on Centre Island in Toronto on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. AP
A prominent Canadian party leader has issued an open invitation to Oregon, Washington and California: Wanna link up, eh?
The remarks were made — just possibly in jest — by Canada’s Green Party leader, Elizabeth May, during a press conference in Ottawa last week, according to Newsweek.
“Maybe California would like to be the 11th province. How about it? California? Oregon? Washington?” she said.
May’s invite is just the latest barb in the battle of words between Canadian officials and President-elect Donald Trump, who suggested that our neighbor to the north become the “51st state” last month.
Trump’s style of international diplomacy has been making plenty of headlines recently, with the president-elect also suggesting the U.S. should buy Greenland and retake the Panama Canal. He’s been known to call the soon-to-be-former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by the diminutive “Governor.”
May, who represents the fifth largest party in Canada’s parliament, has a sales pitch to the liberal states on the Pacific seaboard. Specifically, health care and gun laws.
“This is what you get: free health care. Universal free health care,” she said. “Those gun laws that your Congress is too afraid to pass because of the national gun lobby. We already got our strict gun laws.”
May isn’t Oregon’s only suitor. The so-called Greater Idaho Movement hopes to claim much of Oregon, too. Many of Oregon’s sparsely-populated eastern counties have signed on, though lawmakers in both states and at the federal level haven’t advanced the proposal.
—Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083, zsparling@oregonian.com or @pdxzane.
Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025).
© 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.
YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here.
Ad Choices
