The highest diplomat of the U.S. authorities on Friday defended U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated name to make Canada the 51st state, calling it an financial “argument” that “stands for itself” whereas talking on Canadian soil.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was repeatedly pressed by reporters on the conclusion of the G7 overseas ministers summit in Charlevoix, Que., about whether or not he agrees with Trump’s feedback, which have escalated amid a rising commerce warfare to incorporate calling the Canada-U.S. border an “synthetic line.”
“The Canadian authorities has made their place, how they really feel about it [annexation] clear, and the president has made his argument about why he thinks Canada could be higher off becoming a member of america for financial functions,” Rubio mentioned.
“There’s a disagreement between the president’s place and the place of the Canadian authorities. I don’t suppose that’s a thriller coming in, and it wasn’t a subject of dialog as a result of that’s not what this summit was about.”
Rubio later reiterated that the difficulty wasn’t mentioned on the summit, however when pressed once more mentioned the difficulty started in December 2024, when then-prime minister Justin Trudeau met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to debate the specter of tariffs on Canada.
“I’ll inform you the way it happened: [Trump] was in a gathering with Trudeau and Trudeau mainly says that if the U.S. imposes tariffs on Canada, then Canada couldn’t survive as a nation state, at which level the president mentioned, ‘Effectively, you need to develop into a state,’” Rubio mentioned.
“He says he loves Canada. He made an argument for why Canada could be higher off becoming a member of america from an financial standpoint and the like. He’s made that argument repeatedly, and I feel it stands for itself.”
Trump has made related claims about Trudeau’s feedback when recalling their December dinner, which got here after Trump first raised the opportunity of sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico over border safety issues. These tariffs and subsequent rounds of duties on Canadian merchandise since early March have led to a commerce warfare and souring relations between the 2 historic allies.
Trudeau has acknowledged he raised issues in regards to the financial affect of these tariffs in the course of the Mar-a-Lago assembly, however has not confirmed Trump’s declare he mentioned Canada wouldn’t be capable to survive as a rustic.
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Nevertheless, Trudeau initially dismissed Trump’s “51st state” comment as a joke, solely to warn of its seriousness later after Trump saved repeating it.
On Thursday, Trump again said he wants Canada to become a U.S. state whereas sitting subsequent to NATO Secretary-Normal Mark Rutte within the Oval Workplace, saying he appreciated the concept of a mixed nation-state “visually.”
“To be sincere with you, Canada solely works as a state,” Trump mentioned.
Rutte didn’t push again on the concept of the U.S. taking up a founding NATO member.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was sworn in shortly earlier than Rubio’s remarks, told reporters he has not but spoken to Trump however mentioned Canada will stand agency in opposition to his annexation threats.
“We’ll by no means, ever in any approach, form or kind be a part of america,” he mentioned. “America shouldn’t be Canada.”
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters earlier Friday that in particular person conferences along with her counterparts on the G7 summit, she raised Ottawa’s perception that the U.S. is making an attempt to annex Canada by means of financial coercion and mentioned increasing commerce exterior North America.
“The response of my colleagues coming from Europe about this absurd menace of annexation was actually, ‘Is {that a} joke?’” Joly mentioned.
“I mentioned to them, ‘This isn’t a joke.’ Canadians are anxious. They’re proud individuals. And you might be right here in a sovereign nation and we don’t anticipate this to even be mentioned.”
Joly mentioned she and Rubio had a “lengthy” dialogue in a bilateral assembly in the course of the summit.
“I wished to have the ability to have a frank dialog with him,” Joly mentioned. “Sovereignty shouldn’t be up for debate. And we had an extended dialog on tariffs and commerce.”
Pete Hoekstra, Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to Canada, affirmed at his Senate affirmation listening to Thursday that “Canada is a sovereign state” and nearer ties would profit each international locations.
— with information from World’s Touria Izri and The Canadian Press
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