Vance Calls Canada a State, Blames Freudian Slip
Vance Calls Canada a State, Blames Freudian Slip
The News
Vice President JD Vance called Canada "a state" at an Aug. 24 event in Maine, then said it was a "Freudian slip" — a remark that landed in the middle of a collapsed trade negotiation and a fresh round of American tariffs.
"We have to remember Canada is a state — sorry, Freudian slip," Vance said, to laughter from the crowd. "That was actually an accident."
He made the comment during a question-and-answer session after a speech at a manufacturing company in Brewer, Maine, according to the National Post. It came hours after President Donald Trump said tariffs on imported automobiles and auto parts from Canada would go to 50%, USA Today reported.
What Else Vance Said
Asked about the tariff negotiations, Vance said "Canada and China have been the two worst countries when it comes to trade policy anywhere in the world," per the National Post. He said he expected that from China, the United States' "biggest economic competitor," but not from Canada.
"They apply ridiculous tariffs and other non-tariff duties on Maine products coming into Canada, and they don't expect Maine or anybody else to fight back," he said. "We're sick of that. We are actually going to fight back against unfair trade practices, whether it's coming from China or Canada."
Vance also said Canada "would get invaded by a foreign country were it not for the protection provided" by the United States.
On dairy, he said a Canadian product entering Maine "probably" carries a zero percent tariff, while "if a Maine farmer sends dairy products into Canada, they could be paying as much as a 250 per cent tariff." The National Post noted that Canada's high dairy tariffs only apply once agreed tariff-rate quotas on U.S. imports under CUSMA are reached or exceeded, and cited a Global News report from last year that U.S. dairy imports to Canada had not yet exceeded those quotas — even as USDA data showed Canada was the second-highest importer of U.S. dairy products in 2025.
He closed with a message aimed at Prime Minister Mark Carney: "Stop taking advantage of the people of Maine. Stop taking advantage of America. It's over."
Timeline
Trump announces the tariffs on Canadian goods in an executive order, initially set to take effect Aug. 19.
Trump issues a three-day pause, saying the two countries are making a deal.
Trade negotiations fall apart late in the day, with each side blaming the other. Carney posts on social media that he is suspending talks and ordering Canadian negotiators back to Ottawa.
The 50% tariffs take effect just after midnight, hitting about $28 billion in Canadian goods — just over 5% of Canada's exports to the United States — including wine, dairy, hockey sticks and cement. Energy, potash, fish and critical minerals are exempt.
At a morning press conference, Carney says Canada is now "at war" after being "attacked" by Trump's tariffs, and pledges dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs.
Trump posts on Truth Social: "On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%." He adds, "Canada will be treated like a State no longer!" and calls Canada one of the most "entitled" countries to deal with on trade. Hours later, Vance makes his remark in Brewer.
Reactions
The crowd in Brewer laughed at the line, and Vance immediately labeled it an accident.
Coverage split on how to read it. Cleveland.com framed the remark as an insult that compared an ally to a U.S. adversary. The National Post described it as echoing Trump's "51st state" rhetoric. Time reported Vance's claim that it was a "Freudian slip," noting it came in response to a question about the heated trade talks.
Carney has not responded to Vance's comment in the reporting available. His government's position, stated Saturday, is that Canada was attacked and will answer in kind.
What's Next
Canada's dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs are set to hit the United States starting Sept. 8, according to the National Post.
Trump's threatened 50% tariffs on cars, trucks, automotive parts and steel are dated Jan. 1, 2027, in his own Truth Social post.
Trade negotiations remain suspended after Carney pulled his negotiators back to Ottawa on Aug. 21.
More
The tariffs now in force apply to goods that do not qualify for preferential treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement, which had shielded much of Canada's exports from earlier U.S. tariffs. That is why the measure covers only a slice of the trade relationship — roughly 5% of Canadian exports to the United States, or about $28 billion in goods by Carney's own accounting — while the auto and steel threat Trump posted Monday would reach far deeper.
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