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Donald Trump’s desire to annex Canada and make it the 51st US state is a “real thing” due to the country’s abundant natural resources, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau reportedly said at an economic summit.
The outgoing prime minister addressed dozens of business leaders and policymakers at a summit in Toronto, where they discussed Mr Trump’s looming threat of a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports. The comments were made during a closed-door meeting after the media had been asked to leave and were mistakenly picked up by a microphone, Canada’s public broadcaster CBC reported.
“They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have and they very much want to be able to benefit from those,” Mr Trudeau reportedly said.
“But Mr Trump has it in mind that one of the easiest ways of doing that is absorbing our country. And it is a real thing.”
In a post on social platform X, Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, confirmed Mr Trudeau’s remarks. “Yes, I can confirm that Trudeau said his assessment is that what Trump really wants is not action on fentanyl or immigration or even the trade deficit, what he really wants is to either dominate Canada or take it outright,” Mr McGowan wrote.
The Independent has reached out to Mr Trudeau’s office for comment.
Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened Canada with sweeping tariffs on exports and suggested that the country could avoid them by voting to replace Charles III as head of state with the American president and becoming the 51st US state.
Initially, it was downplayed as a joke but was seen more seriously after Mr Trump vowed to use “economic force” to force Ottawa to dismiss the border with the US as an “artificially drawn line”.
Mr Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on threats to impose 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, with another 10 per cent tariff on Canadian oil, natural gas and electricity.
Mr Trump had threatened the tariffs to ensure greater cooperation from the countries to stop illegal immigration and prevent fentanyl smuggling, but he has also pledged to use tariffs to boost domestic manufacturing and raise revenues for the federal government.
Mr Trudeau said Canada can use the 30-day extension to show US officials the country’s increased spending on border security. Canada has announced a $1.3bn Canadian (£729m) border security plan that includes drones, helicopters, more border guards and the creation of a joint task force.
Mr Trudeau also has promised to appoint a new fentanyl czar, who will serve as the primary liaison between the Canadian and US governments, even though less than 1 per cent of the fentanyl and illegal immigrant crossings into the US come from Canada.
“If those tariffs do end up coming in or the investigation into commerce tariffs that is scheduled for April moves forward, we need to be ready to respond robustly,” Mr Trudeau said in public remarks at the summit.
He said Canada now faces “what may be a more challenging long-term political situation with the United States.”
He added that Canada needs to be prepared if Mr Trump decides to go ahead with the tariffs after 30 days.
“We need to be ready to respond robustly,” he said. “We also have to be ready to support Canadians through the responses we’re giving and through a difficult time of tariffs.”
Canada has vast resources of three dozen minerals which are considered critical for modern technology such as green energy transition, vehicle batteries and defence applications.
Additional reporting by agencies
