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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reiterated that Canada has no intention of becoming the 51st state of the United States.
“That’s not going to happen,” he said.
Speaking to former White House press secretary Jen Psaki on MSNBC’s “Inside” on Sunday, Trudeau discussed President-elect Donald Trump’s repeated comments that Canada could become part of the United States.
“I know that, as a successful negotiator, you like to keep people off balance. In the 51st state, that’s not going to happen,” he said.
The prime minister, who has faced growing unpopularity in polls ahead of the national election, announced he will resign in March after his Liberal Party elects a new leader.
Trump has recently upped the ante with repeated comments about annexing Canada.
“If we get rid of that artificially drawn line and look at what it looks like, it would also be much better for national security,” Trump said at a news conference at his Mar-a Lago home in Florida on Tuesday.
“Canada and the United States, that would be really important.”
He has even gone so far as to call the prime minister “Governor Trudeau,” a position typically held by leaders of American states.
But on television Sunday, Trudeau said they don’t care about those jabs.
“I tend to focus on the substantive stuff, and not on people choosing nicknames for me. I mean, if I was that sensitive I probably wouldn’t last as long in politics.”
One of the main reasons Canada won’t join the United States, Trudeau said, is simple: Canadians don’t want to do it.
In trying to define their national identity, Trudeau said Canadians are likely to say “we’re not Americans,” among other things.
Earlier this week, Trudeau put it more bluntly, saying there was “not even a snowball’s chance” of the two countries becoming one.
Trudeau said what worries him is the impact of the tariffs on Canadians and Americans. Tensions between Trump and Canada have been simmering since the president-elect announced his plan implement 25% tariffs on goods from Canada.
The move would have a significant impact on Canada’s economy and could lead to retaliatory tariffs.
“Canadians are incredibly proud to be Canadian, but now people are talking about that instead of the impact of the 25 per cent tariffs,” Trudeau said. “No American wants to pay 25 per cent more for electricity or oil and gas from Canada.”
Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith posted on social media that she had met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence over the weekend to discuss the importance of US-Canada energy partnerships. . Alberta is a major oil and gas exporter.
