Canada can keep ‘O Canada’ anthem as 51st US state: Trump

President Donald Trump reiterated his desire to absorb Canada into the US as its 51st state.

"I think Canada, you know, they're gonna have to pay tariffs on automobiles, lumber and oil and gas, etcetera, and they get 95% of their product from the United States," Trump said at the Republican Governors Association Meeting dinner in Washington, DC on Thursday.

"I think they have to become the 51st state," he added.

Turning to an international hockey game in Montreal, where Canadians booed the US national anthem ahead of the match, Trump said he thinks that "ultimately" they'll be praising the national anthem.

"We'll have to work out some deal…because I do like the 'O Canada' all right," he said, referring to the Canadian national anthem.

"It's a beautiful thing. I think we're going to have to keep it for the 51st state," he added.

Calling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a "governor," Trump said he is doing a "wonderful job."

"I think it's actually cost him his election, if you want to know that, but we're gonna see about that.

"We're looking at Greenland, and we have to take back the Panama Canal," he added.