U.S. Vice President JD Vance sparked attention Monday after mistakenly referring to Canada as a “state” while discussing the growing trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa.
Speaking in Brewer, Maine, Vance was criticizing Canada’s trade policies when he said, “We have to remember, Canada is a state—sorry, Freudian slip.” He immediately corrected himself, adding that the mistake was accidental.
The remark drew laughter from the audience and quickly stood out because President Donald Trump has repeatedly discussed the idea of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state.
Vance then returned to his criticism of Canada, arguing that the country has not invested enough in its military and relies heavily on the United States for protection.
He also accused Canada of treating American businesses unfairly through tariffs and other trade barriers.
Vance specifically pointed to agricultural products, saying Maine farmers can face tariffs as high as 250% when sending dairy products into Canada, while some Canadian dairy products entering Maine face no tariffs.
The vice president also accused Canada of allowing itself to become a “backdoor” for Chinese goods entering the United States.
Vance said Washington had expected the latest round of negotiations to produce an agreement, but claimed Canadian officials made what he described as “a bunch of unreasonable last-minute demands.”
“I frankly thought we had a deal,” Vance said, while arguing that the United States needed to send a clear message to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“Stop taking advantage of the people of Maine. Stop taking advantage of America,” Vance said.
The comments came after recent U.S.-Canada trade negotiations broke down and new tariffs intensified tensions between the two countries. Canadian officials have said they remain open to negotiations but have rejected what they consider unfair U.S. demands.
The dispute is particularly significant for Maine because of the state’s close economic relationship with Canada.
Vance’s remarks therefore combined criticism of Canadian trade policies with a broader argument that Washington expects greater fairness from one of America’s closest trading partners.
His brief reference to Canada as a “state,” however, quickly became the most talked-about moment of the appearance, particularly because of Trump’s longstanding rhetoric about Canada potentially becoming part of the United States.
Vance insisted that the wording was simply an accidental slip.
