He spoke with a smile, at the end of November, about making Canada the “51st state” in America. The tone among Donald Trump now seems to have changed, enough to provoke reactions and condemnations from the northern neighbor. On Tuesday, the elected American president, who must be inaugurated at the White House on January 20, threatened to use “economic force” against Canada, which he considers “subsidized” for its protection by the United States . He even went so far as to publish on the Truth Social network a map of the United States including Canada.
Donald Trump has spoken of increasing customs duties between the two countries by 25%, a threat he has also made against Mexico. According to the Canadian newspaper The Pressthe Republican criticizes Canada for not controlling its borders enough, allowing, according to him, too many illegal immigrants and the drug Fentanyl, a public health scourge in the United States.
No “backing down from threats”
The excesses of Donald Trump, who also has Greenland and the Panama Canal in his sights, no longer make Ottawa smile. “Never, ever, will Canada be part of the United States,” reacted Tuesday on X the resigning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “We will never back down from threats,” added Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs. “President Trump’s comments demonstrate a total misunderstanding of what makes Canada a strong country,” she said.
The leader of the Canadian Conservatives is on the same line. “Canada will never be the 51st American state. Period,” Pierre Poilievre wrote on Tuesday, adding that his country is “the best friend of the United States.”
Beyond these declarations, the Trudeau government is considering an economic response to Donald Trump. According to -, Ottawa is preparing a list of around a hundred symbolic products which would be subject to surcharges. Another response could be to reduce Canadian energy exports to their powerful neighbor. This is what the Prime Minister of the Canadian state of Ontario suggested, even though three other states have already expressed their opposition to this idea.
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