President-elect Donald Trump took a jab at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, calling him a “governor” and referring to Canada as a “great country” – another compliment from the incoming president -in that this country should be part of the United States.
Trump apparently made fun of Canada being the 51st state during his dinner with Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago last month. In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump said that if the US is going to run up lopsided trade deficits with Canada, it might as well be a state.
“We had the pleasure of having dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada. Be truly amazing to everyone!” Trump said in a social media post.
It is not clear why Trump is going public with this situation. That may be because Trudeau suggested on Monday that Canada is prepared to do something of sorts against the US if Trump imposes a punitive 25 percent tariff on all Canadian imports.
“We will, of course, as we did eight years ago, respond to unfair tariffs in a number of ways and we are still looking at the right ways to respond,” Trudeau said, referring to Canada's response. to Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum in his first term.
US president Donald Trump referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as 'Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada' in a social media post on Tuesday. That started a question for Chrystia Freeland, deputy prime minister and finance minister, about how to negotiate with a leader who doesn't seem to take Canada seriously.
When he was asked about what Trump said in annexation and whether he suggests that he is not paying attention to Canada, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said that Canada is a unique country.
“I'm very clear about Canada. I know how lucky I am to be in Canada. I know what a great country we live in. world – I'm very clear about that, yes We're all very clear on that,” she said.
Asked whether Canada should take Trump seriously when he suggests that this country could become part of the US, Freeland said reporters should ask the president-elect .
“I want to say to Canadians, our government is absolutely determined to protect the national interest,” she said.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller dismissed Trump's comment.
“It's like we're living in an episode of South Park,” Miller said, referring to the long-running American animated sitcom. blaming Canada for US problems.
The President of the Treasury Board, Anita Anand, said that Canada is a “sovereign country” and that the government will do what is best for Canadians despite Trump's threats.
“Our only concern is the well-being of our country, the defense of our country, the security of our country,” she said. “I'm very proud to be in Canada.”
She said Trump was aware of the importance of the bilateral relationship as he invited Trudeau to his estate in Florida.
“The first meeting the president had with a G7 country was with Prime Minister Trudeau – that looks really bad to me,” she said.
Trump is said to have told Trudeau at that dinner that Canada must harden its border to prevent migrants and drugs from entering the US or face trade action .
US president Donald Trump has been demanding that Canada stop fentanyl flowing through the shared border. But experts say it's not a big problem and Trump is really looking for Canada to tighten money laundering laws.
The federal government has already announced a series of border measures, including the purchase of drones and helicopters to better monitor border crossings.
Trump at friends has said Canada may need to do more to stay in its good graces and avoid its worst protectionist policies.
“I think it's very bad and I think one of the things that people around the world know about Donald Trump is that he will continue to do things like this,” he said. Ken Cuccinelli, who was the deputy secretary of homeland security during Trump's first term.
“Although most people focus on the southern border of the United States, the fact is that the crossings at the northern border, on a percentage basis, have increased even faster. “
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who was among a small group of Canadians who dined with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week, answers questions from reporters about Trump say Canada could be the 51st state. LeBlanc says it wasn't a real idea at all.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials intercepted about 198,000 people entering the U.S. from Canada over the past year—a tiny fraction of its 2.1 million “encounters.” the southern border.
But there has been an increase in these incidents on the northern border. Two years ago, the number of meetings under 110,000.
An “encounter” is defined as CBP apprehending, detaining or removing someone who has entered the US illegally or is ineligible or permitted to enter.
Of the 198,000 “encounters”, 23,721 of these were people caught crossing the border illegally, according to CBP data. That's up significantly from the 2,238 people held for doing the same thing in 2022.
On Sunday, after Trump's latest Canada-US taunt, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the president-elect was making these comments because Trudeau is “weak” and Trump feels like he can take advantage of it.
“The bottom line is that Justin Trudeau is a weak leader and is not respected by countries around the world,” Poilievre said.
“We will go to talks with our American friends in a position of strength rather than weakness. Canada will be independent, strong and proud,” he said.
