Canadian, leaving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said the group of business leaders to believe that President Donald Trump could seriously attach to his country.
Trudeau suggested that Trump floated with the idea of taking over Canada and to make it “51 to the state” because he wants to approach the critical minerals of the country.
“Mr. Trump has the easiest way to absorb our country and that’s the right thing,” the Prime Minister said.
His comments were made behind the closed doors at the Canada-US economic summit in Toronto, but were partly captured by a microphone and reported several Canadian media.
The summit was attended by more than 100 business leaders and experts in public policy, and hosts the newly opened Advisory Council for Canada-US for Canada-US.
Trudeauu’s comments come after Trump threatened Canada with 25% of tariffs on all exports to the United States, with the exception of energy exports that will be taxed with a lower rate of 10%.
The tariffs were supposed to be imposed earlier this week, but Trump is Canada – as well as Mexico, which threatened with similar tariffs – last minute return for 30 days in exchange for more effort to strengthen security on their common limits.
Trump has repeatedly proposed that in the posts on his social media platform, the truth of social and in the remarks of the reporters that Canada could become an American state instead to avoid tariffs. He also called the country’s premiere “Governor Trudeau.”
“What I would like to see – Canada became our 51st state,” Trump said earlier this week in an oval office, when asked about what a Canada concession could offer.
Trump mentioned the idea for the first time to absorb Canada at TRUDEAU Dinner in December, shortly after he first threatened the tariffs. Then Canadian officials rejected him as a joke.
But Trudeau’s comments on Friday suggest a shift in the way Canada could experience Trump’s remarks.
The IPSOS survey conducted in January shows that most Canadians (80%) are opposed to their country that they are becoming a part of the United States -Ai would never vote ‘yes’ in any referendum on the matter.
Such a move would also require the approval of both congress chambers in the US, and it will also need a supermarket of 60 votes to pass through the Senate.
In Canada, Trump’s threats caused anxiety throughout the country. About three quarters of Canadian exports are sold to the US, and steep tariffs on the goods could deeply harm the Canada economy and risk thousands of job losses.
Some provincial politicians are running “buying local” campaigns to encourage Canadians to spend their money at home instead of in the US. Some Canadians canceled trips to the south border in protest.
However, officials also tried to encourage closer relationships with the US after the tariff, saying that Canada is open to establishing the Canada-US federation and critical minerals.
Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who was in Washington this week to meet with US colleagues, said that closer cooperation would be “Win-Win” for both countries.
On Friday, Trudeau said that Canada faced the possibility of “challenging, long -term political situations with the United States” and must find ways to strengthen its own economy and trade ties in the years ahead.
