‘We’re Not American’: Trudeau rejects Trump's remarks about annexing Canada into the US
Shafaq News/ Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed US President-elect Donald Trump's remarks about annexing Canada into the United States, affirming that Canadians are “incredibly proud” of their identity.
In an interview with CNN, Trudeau, who announced earlier this week his plans to step down as prime minister after his party selects a successor, said, “This is not going to happen,” confirming that Canadians “are incredibly proud of being Canadian. One of the ways we define ourselves most easily is, well, we’re not American.”
Trudeau described President Trump as a "very skillful negotiator" but noted that he “is getting people to be somewhat distracted by that, by that conversation, to take away from the conversation around 25% tariffs on oil and gas and electricity and steel and aluminum and lumber and concrete.”
In November, Trump pledged significant tariff increases on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China, set to take effect on his first day in office.
“Everything the American consumers buy from Canada is suddenly going to get a lot more expensive if he moves forward on these tariffs,” Trudeau explained.
When asked if Trump’s re-election influenced his decision to resign, he responded, “No, on the contrary, what we were able to do during the first presidency of Mr. Trump was work together in a very challenging situation to come out with a very strong win, win in Canada-US relations,” Trudeau said, referring to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to work with him for the next two months.”
On Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his remarks about making Canada the 51st US state during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "Canada and the United States: That would be really something.”
"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,” he pointed out. "They have a very small military. They rely on our military. It's all fine, but, you know, they got to pay for that. It's very unfair."
US-Canada Relations: Background
The United States and Canada are close partners, connected by a 5,525-mile border, shared history, and common values. They uphold mutual security commitments through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the binational North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The two nations share one of the world's largest bilateral commercial relationships, with over $2.5 billion in goods and services exchanged daily in 2023. Cooperation extends to cross-border law enforcement and managing transboundary natural resources. Given their deep integration, Members of Congress often monitor bilateral relations and evaluate how Canadian policies impact the United States, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The US-Canada relations reportedly face “a renewed era of uncertainty” following Donald Trump’s re-election to a second presidential term in November 2024. During his first term (2017–2021), the Trump Administration challenged key pillars of the bilateral relationship, including commitments to NATO and North American free trade, leading to strained ties. Recent statements by President-elect Trump, including proposals for tariffs on Canadian imports, suggest the countries “may be on the cusp of another contentious period in the bilateral relationship,” as per the service.
