JD Vance’s ‘Freudian slip’ makes Canada part of America

Vice President JD Vance made an embarrassing "Freudian slip" when he described Canada as a "state," rather than a country, as the tariff war between the two neighbors heats up.

Vance was campaigning on behalf of Republican House candidate Paul LePage in Brewer, Maine, when he addressed the current tensions.

"We have to remember, Canada is a state – sorry, Freudian slip," the VP said, immediately realizing his error when his audience laughed. "That was actually an accident. Canada is a country."

He went on to accuse America's neighbor of "taking advantage" of the U.S. on trade by providing "a backdoor for Chinese goods", saying its officials had made "a bunch of unreasonable last-minute demands," which had derailed their talks.

Vance further said Canada had "underinvested" in its military and would be forced to seek U.S. protection if it were invaded.

Vice President JD Vance accidentally referred to Canada as a 'state,' not a country, during an address in Maine Monday (Getty)

His gaffe was significant because President Donald Trump has repeatedly made overtures towards Canada about its becoming the 51st state, often ironically referring to Prime Minister Mark Carney as "governor" on social media.

Canadians have reacted angrily to Trump's provocations, which inspired a wave of patriotic feeling that saw American goods boycotted, Carney swept to power in the April 2025 federal election and his more MAGA-friendly rival Pierre Poilievre lose his seat.

The failure of the talks, designed to stave off the imposition of 50 percent tariffs on a range of Canadian exports, has prompted Carney to warn Trump he will retaliate "dollar for dollar" and caused the president to spark up a personal war of words with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Vance made a number of other blunders in Maine, declaring at one stage: "If you are defrauding the taxpaper – payer – we're going to do everything we can to put you in prison and send a message to the other fraudsters: the gig [jig] is up, commit fraud against America and go to jail."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to retaliate against President Donald Trump's 50 percent tariffs 'dollar for dollar' (AP)

He went on to offer a garbled answer about a recent ICE shooting in Biddeford, initially saying he did not want to "prejudge all the details" and preferred to wait for an internal investigation to be completed.

But then he added: "At least what the law enforcement officers argue is that that person posed a danger to the community" before urging against trying the case in "the court of public opinion."

An apparent joke also fell flat, drawing a mixed response when he referred to his wife Usha's doubts about his becoming Trump's running mate two years ago.

"The second lady said, 'Well, you can have one of two things. You can be vice president, or you can have a fourth child,'" Vance recounted. "Ladies and gentlemen, I must be pretty persuasive, because I got both."