Why Maine Is Sometimes the Subject of Canada Jokes

What is the joke about giving Maine to Canada?

It is a joke about treating a U.S. state as though it could simply be handed to a neighboring country. The premise is not an official plan. Maine is part of the United States; a joke or viral post does not alter that.

The research available here does not provide the wording, author, or full context of the post behind the joke. It does, however, describe a separate political gesture that may be easy to confuse with it: a Maine politician’s invitation for Canadian provinces to join the United States. That was the opposite direction of travel.

What did Maine senator Joseph Martin propose?

In August 2025, Joseph Martin, a Republican elected to the Maine Senate in 2024, wrote an open letter inviting British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to become U.S. states ¹. Martin represents a largely rural district in western Maine, near the New Hampshire border, and lives in Rumford ¹.

The letter set out Martin’s arguments for the invitation, including positions on religion, firearms, environmental regulation, and speech ¹. The account says the proposal was unilateral: it did not come from Maine’s state government or the U.S. federal government ¹. It was an individual politician’s appeal, not an official change in policy.

Why does the distinction matter?

The difference is straightforward: the joke imagines Maine becoming Canadian, while Martin’s letter asked four Canadian provinces to become part of the United States. Neither should be mistaken for an agreed change to a border or a government’s formal decision.

The source reports hostile responses to Martin’s proposal, including comments from Canadian elected officials ¹. Those reactions show that his invitation was contested, but they do not establish that the provinces considered joining or that any formal process began.

For an ordinary reader, the practical point is that the joke is not evidence that Maine is leaving the United States. The available source gives no indication of an official Maine-to-Canada transfer proposal.

What remains unclear?

The source does not explain where the joke about giving Maine to Canada began or how widely it has circulated. It also does not provide details about any formal legal or governmental process for changing Maine’s status. Those questions should not be filled in by treating a joke or an individual letter as official action.

The source concerns Martin’s 2025 letter and does not establish whether his position or any related discussion has changed since then. For current developments, readers would need to check reliable reporting or official statements from the relevant governments.