Trudeau says Trump threatens Annexar Canada ‘is something real’

The outgoing prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, told a group of business leaders that he believes President Donald Trump could be serious about the annexation of his country.

Trudeau suggested that Trump has floated the idea of ​​taking care of Canada and turning it into the “State 51” because he wants to access the critical minerals of the country.

“Trump takes into account that the easiest way to do so is to absorb our country and it is something real,” said the prime minister.

His comments were made behind closed doors at an economic summit in Canada-United States in Toronto, but were partly captured by a microphone and were informed by several Canadian media.

The summit attended more than 100 business leaders and public policy experts, and was organized by the newly created Advisory Council of Canada-United States of the Canadian government.

Trudeau’s comments occur after Trump threatened Canada with a 25% tariff over all his exports to the US, with the exception of energy exports that would be taxed at a lower rate of 10%.

The tariffs would be imposed earlier this week, but Trump granted Canada, as well as Mexico, which had been threatened with similar tariffs, a last minute break for 30 days in exchange for more efforts to reinforce security at its shared borders .

Trump had repeatedly suggested, both in publications on their social network social media platform and in comments to journalists, which Canada could become an American state to avoid tariffs. He has also referred to the country’s prime minister as “Governor Trudeau”.

“What I would like to see: Canada became our state 51,” Trump said earlier this week at the Oval office, when he was asked what concessions Canada could offer.

Trump mentioned for the first time the idea of ​​absorbing Canada at a dinner with Trudeau in December, shortly after first threatening tariffs. At that time, Canadian officials ruled out it as a joke.

But Trudeau’s comments on Friday suggest a change in how Canada could be receiving Trump’s comments.

An Ipsos survey conducted in January shows that most Canadians (80%) oppose their country becoming part of the United States, and would never vote ‘yes’ in any referendum on the subject.

Such movement would also require the approval of both Congress chambers in the US, and would need a 60 votes to overcome the Senate.

In Canada, Trump’s threats have caused nationwide anxiety. Around three quarters of Canadian exports are sold to the US, and the pronounced tariffs on these goods could deeply damage the economy of Canada and risk thousands of job losses.

Some provincial politicians have been launching campaigns to “buy premises” to encourage Canadians to spend their money at home instead of the United States. Some Canadians have canceled trips to the south of the border in protest.

But the authorities have also tried to push the most closed ties with the United States following tariffs, saying that Canada was open to establishing an alliance of Canada-United States on energy and critical minerals.

The Minister of Energy, Jonathan Wilkinson, who has been in Washington DC this week to meet his American counterparts, said a closer collaboration would be a “mutual benefit” for both countries.

At Friday’s summit, Trudeau said that Canada faced the possibility of “a more challenging political situation and long term with the United States”, and must find ways to strengthen its own economy and commercial ties in the coming years.