CBC
Tue, January 7, 2025
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday continued to threaten significant tariffs and said he would be willing to use 'economic,' rather than military force, to join Canada and the United States. (Carlos Barria/Reuters - image credit)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday dismissed U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's willingness to use "economic force" to absorb Canada into the United States by reiterating what his Canadian government has said for some time: merging countries is not in the realm of possibility.
"There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States," Trudeau wrote on X.
"Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other's biggest trading and security partner."
At a news conference earlier Tuesday, a bombastic Trump said he would consider using "economic force" to join Canada and the United States together.
"That would really be something," he said in Palm Beach, Fla.
"You get rid of the artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like and it would also be much better national security. Don't forget: We basically protect Canada."
WATCH | 'We don't need anything they have,' Trump says of Canada:
When pressed on the issue, Trump later acknowledged he has no "right" to absorb the country into his own. Criticizing American spending on Canadian goods, he said the United States is still not obligated to support its closest neighbour economically.
Canada and the U.S. have a trillion-dollar trade relationship.
In his answer, Trump pointed to several key imports he felt Americans didn't need: including the automotive, lumber and dairy sectors. The United States imported $614.3 billion Cdn worth of goods from Canada in 2022, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and is Canada's best customer when it comes to oil and petroleum.
In only his second news conference since his election victory in November, Trump reiterated his intent to impose "substantial" tariffs on Canada and Mexico when he returns to the White House in less than two weeks.
Trump previously threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all imports from the two neighbouring nations unless they do more to address border security.
He did not campaign on a plan to annex Canada but has spoken repeatedly in favour about Canada becoming "the 51st state."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes an announcement outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday, Jan.6, 2025.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces his resignation outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday. He will step down once the Liberals choose a new party leader. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Gordon Giffin, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada, said Trump's blustering about absorbing his northern neighbour is only a negotiating strategy to add urgency to his long-standing economic grievances.
Tue, January 7, 2025
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday continued to threaten significant tariffs and said he would be willing to use 'economic,' rather than military force, to join Canada and the United States. (Carlos Barria/Reuters - image credit)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday dismissed U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's willingness to use "economic force" to absorb Canada into the United States by reiterating what his Canadian government has said for some time: merging countries is not in the realm of possibility.
"There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States," Trudeau wrote on X.
"Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other's biggest trading and security partner."
At a news conference earlier Tuesday, a bombastic Trump said he would consider using "economic force" to join Canada and the United States together.
"That would really be something," he said in Palm Beach, Fla.
"You get rid of the artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like and it would also be much better national security. Don't forget: We basically protect Canada."
WATCH | 'We don't need anything they have,' Trump says of Canada:
When pressed on the issue, Trump later acknowledged he has no "right" to absorb the country into his own. Criticizing American spending on Canadian goods, he said the United States is still not obligated to support its closest neighbour economically.
Canada and the U.S. have a trillion-dollar trade relationship.
In his answer, Trump pointed to several key imports he felt Americans didn't need: including the automotive, lumber and dairy sectors. The United States imported $614.3 billion Cdn worth of goods from Canada in 2022, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and is Canada's best customer when it comes to oil and petroleum.
In only his second news conference since his election victory in November, Trump reiterated his intent to impose "substantial" tariffs on Canada and Mexico when he returns to the White House in less than two weeks.
Trump previously threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all imports from the two neighbouring nations unless they do more to address border security.
He did not campaign on a plan to annex Canada but has spoken repeatedly in favour about Canada becoming "the 51st state."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes an announcement outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday, Jan.6, 2025.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces his resignation outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday. He will step down once the Liberals choose a new party leader. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Gordon Giffin, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada, said Trump's blustering about absorbing his northern neighbour is only a negotiating strategy to add urgency to his long-standing economic grievances.
"Threatening Canada? I guess it sounded like that, but in the final analysis I think it's all about economics and I think he's had economic frustrations with respect to the North American economic experience since his first term," Giffin told CBC News Network on Tuesday.
"Whether he means some 'acquisition' of Canada by the United States by any means? I actually don't believe that."
In his own statement, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said "Canada will never be the 51st state. Period."
On X, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh made his own threat against Trump.
"No Canadian wants to join you. We are proud Canadians. Proud of the way we take care of each other and defend our nation. Your attacks will hurt jobs on both sides of the border," he wrote.
"You come for Canadians' jobs, Americans will pay a price."
Trump also eyeing Panama Canal, Greenland
Though he said he was not considering military force on Canada, he remarkably did not rule out that option to have the U.S. take back control of the Panama Canal and acquire the Danish territory of Greenland.
"No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this: we need them for economic security," he said of the latter.
He said he would "tariff Denmark at a very high level" if it does not give Greenland to the U.S.
Mexican, Danish and Panamanian authorities did not immediately comment. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has previously rejected the notion of turning the canal back to the U.S., which had owned it before handing over control to Panama in 1999.
Not a 'snowball's chance in hell' of Canada becoming 51st state: Trudeau
Kelly Geraldine Malone
Tue, January 7, 2025
CANADIAN PRESS
WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clapped back Tuesday at Donald Trump's escalating claims that Canada would be better off if it became the 51st state, and has called for an in-person meeting with premiers in Ottawa next week to address this country's relationship with the United States.
Trudeau and the premiers have met virtually twice since November to negotiate a response to Trump's threat to slap Canada and Mexico with 25 per cent import tariffs the day he takes office. That threat is now imminent, with inauguration day less than two weeks away and Trump insisting Tuesday in a news conference that he will follow through with the tariffs.
The Prime Minister's Office said late Tuesday Trudeau and premiers will meet in person Wednesday in Ottawa, days before that would happen.
Trump on Tuesday also repeated his insistence that Canada should join the U.S. While he suggested he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, saying they were vital to American security, he did not go that far with Canada. Instead he said he would rely on "economic force" to merge the two countries.
"You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security," Trump said, referring to the border between Canada and the U.S.
"And don't forget, we basically protect Canada."
Trudeau, who has until now not directly commented on Trump's repeated and escalating comments about annexing Canada, appeared to have had enough.
"There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States," Trudeau said in a statement posted to social media.
"Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partners."
Trump first quipped about Canada becoming the 51st state in November, when the prime minister and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc dined with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago in Florida to discuss his tariff threats.
LeBlanc has repeatedly dismissed the idea as "a joke" but the government is not laughing now.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly posted on X that his comments "show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country."
The Liberal Party posted a map of North America on X labelling the United States and Canada as "Not the United States," with the caption: "For anyone who may be confused."
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told Trump to "cut the crap."
"Your attacks will hurt jobs on both sides of the border," Singh posted on X. "You come for Canadians' jobs, Americans will pay a price."
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre did not mention Trump by name but said "Canada will never be the 51st state. Period." In a post on X, Poilievre said Canada is an independent country and the United States' best friend.
In a wide-ranging news conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the president-elect said he will impose "substantial" tariffs on Canada and Mexico when he returns to the White House in less than two weeks.
Trump said previously he’ll slap 25 per cent duties on imports from America’s closest neighbours unless they stop the flow of illegal drugs and migrants across the border.
Trudeau and LeBlanc made a quick trip to Florida late last year to discuss the threat. A few weeks later, LeBlanc announced a series of measures to beef up border security with a $1.3-billion package. Trump has indicated he still intends to proceed with his tariff plan.
Trump mused about that meeting with Trudeau during Tuesday's news conference and claimed repeatedly that Canada is subsidized by the U.S. He said the U.S. doesn't need Canadian imports like milk, lumber and automobiles.
The president-elect also criticized Canada’s level of military funding and said he told hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to run for prime minister.
Matthew Lebo, a specialist in U.S. politics at Western University in London, Ont., said he doesn't think Trump will infringe on Canada's sovereignty by somehow forcing the two countries to merge. But the president-elect's comments show an unwillingness to understand the bilateral relationship, he added.
"Canada should be incredibly nervous that our economic health is in the hands of somebody who doesn't understand how things work," he said.
Canada is in a particularly difficult diplomatic situation after Trudeau announced Monday that he will resign his post as soon as a new Liberal leader is chosen, Lebo said.
The date for a Liberal leadership race hasn't been set. Trudeau also prorogued Parliament until March 24 and a federal election will take place later this year.
Earlier Tuesday, Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer said Trudeau had been "weak" in dealing with subsequent U.S. administrations. Singh challenged anyone running for prime minister to commit to retaliatory tariffs if Trump acts on his promises.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has warned he will retaliate if Trump follows through, suggesting the province could cut energy exports to the U.S. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said her province would not impose retaliatory tariffs on oil and gas.
SHE CAN'T ANYWAYS TARIFFS ARE FEDERAL JURISDICTION NOT PROVINCIAL.
In a statement late Tuesday afternoon, Smith did not directly address Trump's latest threatening comments but reiterated that Canada buys more products and services from the U.S. than any other country.
“Canada is a strong, independent nation with the ninth largest economy in the world, and our southern neighbour benefits from this economic strength," she said.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said Tuesday that the burden of confronting the tariff threat has now fallen to the premiers. He said he and his counterparts from across Canada will travel to Washington in an effort to convince the president-elect to back away from the tariff plan.
"It makes no sense to punish both Americans and Canadians to address that issue," he said. "We can do it together."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2025.
— With files from David Baxter and Kyle Duggan in Ottawa, Brenna Owen in Vancouver and The Associated Press
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
‘A snowball’s chance in hell’: Trudeau rejects Trump threat to annex Canada
Leyland Cecco in Toronto and Oliver Holmes
Tue, January 7, 2025
THE GUARDIAN
The prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, announced his resignation on Monday.Photograph: Canadian Press/Rex/Shutterstock
Justin Trudeau has rejected threats from Donald Trump that the US could use “economic force” to annex its closest ally, saying: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.
“Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner,” Canada’s prime minister wrote on social media.
Trump’s musings on Tuesday came as he doubled down on threats to impose protectionist tariffs on one of the US’s biggest trading partners.
“Canada and the United States: that would be really something,” he said from Florida, but warned his incoming administration was getting frustrated over what the president-elected called “subsidies” for Canada.
“We’ve been good neighbours, but we can’t do it forever, and it’s a tremendous amount of money,” he said.
Canada’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, also pushed back, writing on social media that Trump’s comments showed a “complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country”. She said Canada “will never back down in the face of threats”.
The remarks are likely to further fuel political turmoil in Canada after the resignation of its prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the suspension of parliament until late March.
The US president-elect made his comments in a meandering press conference in which he also refused to rule out using military force to retake the Panama Canal and seize Greenland, and promised to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”.
He once again mulled a union between Canada and the US, describing their shared border, established more than 230 years ago, as an “artificially drawn line”.
Related: Trump refuses to rule out using military to take Panama Canal and Greenland
Asked if he would use military force, Trump said: “No, economic force.” He repeated his baseless claim that the US “subsidizes” Canada and said the country spends too much to defend its neighbour.
Trudeau announced on Monday he would step down after nearly 10 years in power as soon as his ruling Liberal party chooses a new leader.
Hours later, Trump revived his running jibe on social media about persuading Canada to seek US statehood.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat,” the incoming president wrote.
In a stark contrast to Trump’s trolling, Joe Biden expressed his appreciation for Trudeau in a phone call late on Monday.
“Over the last decade, Prime Minister Trudeau has led with commitment, optimism, and strategic vision. The US-Canada alliance is stronger because of him. The American and Canadian people are safer because of him. And the world is better off because of him,” Biden said in a statement on Tuesday.
But the latest developments are likely to further deepen worries that a suspended parliament, a lame-duck prime minister, a Liberal leadership race and a federal election will all unfold at a time when Canada’s largest trading partner is at its most unpredictable.
Trudeau’s decision to resign has thrown open the doors to a fierce party race before a general election later this year.
Late on Monday, the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney announced that he was considering entering the race to replace Trudeau.
Related: Who could replace Justin Trudeau as leader of Canada’s Liberal party?
Carney, a climate-focused economist who became the first non-Briton to run the Bank of England, said in a statement that he would be “considering this decision closely with my family over the coming days”. A longtime and prominent member of the Liberal party, Carney said he was “encouraged” by the support of Liberal lawmakers and people “who want us to move forward with positive change and a winning economic plan”.
Speculation that Carney, who ran the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, could be seeking high office has grown over the past few months as Trudeau’s popularity plummeted amid record inflation, an acute housing crisis, high food prices and voter fatigue.
It has been more than a decade since the party last ran a federal leadership contest, with Trudeau securing a dominant win in 2013 and rebuilding the party in the years since.
The Liberal caucus will meet on Wednesday to discuss the procedure for selecting Trudeau’s replacement. The party’s constitution has a process for selecting a leader that typically takes months but there are now fewer than 80 days until parliament returns. Party brass are hopeful for a new leader by the end of January.
“It’s unfathomable to me that we can’t choose a leader of the Liberal party in a 30- to 60-day period, whereas we can choose the prime minister of Canada or the leader of the country according to the Elections Act in a 30- to 60-day period,” the immigration minister, Marc Miller, told CBC News.
Still, there are unanswered questions about who may be casting a ballot for the new leader. Trudeau’s 2013 win came after the party allowed people who had not paid for memberships to vote.
The Liberal party is in a tough position, with the opposition Conservatives expected to win a majority government under current polling. The Conservative party leader, Pierre Poilievre, has dismissed the former central banker as “Carbon Tax Carney”, a reference to a levy on consumer fuel Trudeau brought in. The Conservatives are also weighing using the tagline “Just like Justin” as an attack on the next Liberal leader in the hopes of tying any successor to the unpopularity of the prime minister.
Last week, Trudeau’s close friend and former principal secretary Gerald Butts wrote in a Substack post that allowing “a handful of apparatchiks [to] choose their prime minister” would harm the party.
“Competitions create better competitors. In politics, leadership campaigns make for better general election campaign teams. They train people, test ideas, build resilience,” he wrote.
Butts said the party’s future was at risk if it held a limited race bound by tight rules. “If Liberals arrogate that right to a few hundred people in Ottawa, I hope they’re alert to the risk that they could be selecting the party’s last leader.”
A poll by the Angus Reid Institute on Friday, before Trudeau’s announcement, found Carney was in second place among candidates likely to replace Trudeau as Liberal leader. The former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, whose resignation last month increased calls for Trudeau to go, was top.
If he were to win the leadership race, Carney would be in the unusual situation of becoming prime minister without holding a seat in the House of Commons. Party leaders are not required to be members of parliament when they win, but convention requires they run for a seat as quickly as possible. It took Jagmeet Singh 16 months to become an MP after winning the leadership of the New Democratic party.
With a spring election widely expected, the new Liberal leader will only hold the post of prime minister for a handful of months before the country votes.
The prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, announced his resignation on Monday.Photograph: Canadian Press/Rex/Shutterstock
Justin Trudeau has rejected threats from Donald Trump that the US could use “economic force” to annex its closest ally, saying: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.
“Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner,” Canada’s prime minister wrote on social media.
Trump’s musings on Tuesday came as he doubled down on threats to impose protectionist tariffs on one of the US’s biggest trading partners.
“Canada and the United States: that would be really something,” he said from Florida, but warned his incoming administration was getting frustrated over what the president-elected called “subsidies” for Canada.
“We’ve been good neighbours, but we can’t do it forever, and it’s a tremendous amount of money,” he said.
Canada’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, also pushed back, writing on social media that Trump’s comments showed a “complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country”. She said Canada “will never back down in the face of threats”.
The remarks are likely to further fuel political turmoil in Canada after the resignation of its prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the suspension of parliament until late March.
The US president-elect made his comments in a meandering press conference in which he also refused to rule out using military force to retake the Panama Canal and seize Greenland, and promised to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”.
He once again mulled a union between Canada and the US, describing their shared border, established more than 230 years ago, as an “artificially drawn line”.
Related: Trump refuses to rule out using military to take Panama Canal and Greenland
Asked if he would use military force, Trump said: “No, economic force.” He repeated his baseless claim that the US “subsidizes” Canada and said the country spends too much to defend its neighbour.
Trudeau announced on Monday he would step down after nearly 10 years in power as soon as his ruling Liberal party chooses a new leader.
Hours later, Trump revived his running jibe on social media about persuading Canada to seek US statehood.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat,” the incoming president wrote.
In a stark contrast to Trump’s trolling, Joe Biden expressed his appreciation for Trudeau in a phone call late on Monday.
“Over the last decade, Prime Minister Trudeau has led with commitment, optimism, and strategic vision. The US-Canada alliance is stronger because of him. The American and Canadian people are safer because of him. And the world is better off because of him,” Biden said in a statement on Tuesday.
But the latest developments are likely to further deepen worries that a suspended parliament, a lame-duck prime minister, a Liberal leadership race and a federal election will all unfold at a time when Canada’s largest trading partner is at its most unpredictable.
Trudeau’s decision to resign has thrown open the doors to a fierce party race before a general election later this year.
Late on Monday, the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney announced that he was considering entering the race to replace Trudeau.
Related: Who could replace Justin Trudeau as leader of Canada’s Liberal party?
Carney, a climate-focused economist who became the first non-Briton to run the Bank of England, said in a statement that he would be “considering this decision closely with my family over the coming days”. A longtime and prominent member of the Liberal party, Carney said he was “encouraged” by the support of Liberal lawmakers and people “who want us to move forward with positive change and a winning economic plan”.
Speculation that Carney, who ran the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, could be seeking high office has grown over the past few months as Trudeau’s popularity plummeted amid record inflation, an acute housing crisis, high food prices and voter fatigue.
It has been more than a decade since the party last ran a federal leadership contest, with Trudeau securing a dominant win in 2013 and rebuilding the party in the years since.
The Liberal caucus will meet on Wednesday to discuss the procedure for selecting Trudeau’s replacement. The party’s constitution has a process for selecting a leader that typically takes months but there are now fewer than 80 days until parliament returns. Party brass are hopeful for a new leader by the end of January.
“It’s unfathomable to me that we can’t choose a leader of the Liberal party in a 30- to 60-day period, whereas we can choose the prime minister of Canada or the leader of the country according to the Elections Act in a 30- to 60-day period,” the immigration minister, Marc Miller, told CBC News.
Still, there are unanswered questions about who may be casting a ballot for the new leader. Trudeau’s 2013 win came after the party allowed people who had not paid for memberships to vote.
The Liberal party is in a tough position, with the opposition Conservatives expected to win a majority government under current polling. The Conservative party leader, Pierre Poilievre, has dismissed the former central banker as “Carbon Tax Carney”, a reference to a levy on consumer fuel Trudeau brought in. The Conservatives are also weighing using the tagline “Just like Justin” as an attack on the next Liberal leader in the hopes of tying any successor to the unpopularity of the prime minister.
Last week, Trudeau’s close friend and former principal secretary Gerald Butts wrote in a Substack post that allowing “a handful of apparatchiks [to] choose their prime minister” would harm the party.
“Competitions create better competitors. In politics, leadership campaigns make for better general election campaign teams. They train people, test ideas, build resilience,” he wrote.
Butts said the party’s future was at risk if it held a limited race bound by tight rules. “If Liberals arrogate that right to a few hundred people in Ottawa, I hope they’re alert to the risk that they could be selecting the party’s last leader.”
A poll by the Angus Reid Institute on Friday, before Trudeau’s announcement, found Carney was in second place among candidates likely to replace Trudeau as Liberal leader. The former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, whose resignation last month increased calls for Trudeau to go, was top.
If he were to win the leadership race, Carney would be in the unusual situation of becoming prime minister without holding a seat in the House of Commons. Party leaders are not required to be members of parliament when they win, but convention requires they run for a seat as quickly as possible. It took Jagmeet Singh 16 months to become an MP after winning the leadership of the New Democratic party.
With a spring election widely expected, the new Liberal leader will only hold the post of prime minister for a handful of months before the country votes.
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