Justin Trudeau resignation prompts Trump to renew calls for Canada to merge with US
The resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has prompted Donald Trump to renew calls for America’s northern neighbour to become its 51st US state.
Trudeau announced on Tuesday he will step down as leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party after nine years in office.
The announcement came after months of pressure from within Trudeau’s own party to quit over fears it would be wiped out at the next election.
Incoming US president Trump may have helped drive the final nail in Trudeau’s coffin with his pledge to impose tariffs that would cripple Canada’s economy.
Trump was quick to use Trudeau’s resignation as an opportunity to call for Canada to be incorporated into the US.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform Tuesday.
“Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned. If Canada merged with the US, there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!,” he wrote.
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Trump has previously mooted Canada joining the US and was roundly mocked on social media in December when he shared a report on his Truth Social
Trump even repeatedly taunted Trudeau with the title “governor”.
Some, however, are taking Trump’s taunts seriously, especially at a time when Canada’s centre-left Liberal government is in disarray following the resignations of both Trudeau and deputy PM Chrystia Freeland in the space of weeks.
Freeland, who is tipped to form part of the new Canadian leadership, placed the country’s response to Trump at the heart of her critique of Trudeau.
Trump has taunted Trudeau by calling him ‘governor’. Photo: AAP
“Among the many broadsides delivered to her former boss, the fact that Canada is ill-prepared to face the dire new threat of Trump’s second term was a recurring theme,” Canadian political scientist Stewart Prest wrote last week.
Prest said Trump was flagrantly disrespecting Canadian independence and, along with it, Canadian identity.
“He’s openly challenging the very idea of Canadian sovereignty. Canada must respond accordingly,” he said.
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Prest warned Trump’s annexation threats created a constant set of “multifaceted challenges to Canada’s economic prosperity, democratic norms and sovereignty”.
Canadian IT mogul Kevin O’Leary, also often referred to as “Mr Wonderful”, raised eyebrows over Christmas when he floated the idea of going to Mar-a-Lago to talk to Trump about the idea of negotiating a European Union-style economic partnership between Canada and the US.
A regular on Canadian reality TV show Shark Tank and a long-time supporter of conservative politics, O’Leary made good on that pledge when he met Trump at the incoming president’s Florida estate this week.
In an interview on the right-wing Fox News, O’Leary confirmed he had two topics he wanted to talk to Trump about.
“No.1 was integrating Canada towards a North American union for greater strength, just period,” he said.
“The world is a difficult place these days, and most Canadians would like to look at that opportunity without giving up their sovereignty.
“So low-hanging fruit would be combined currency, for example, combining the Bank of Canada with the Fed (US Federal Reserve), things like that.”
Tariff threat
Trump’s proposed 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian exports to the US would be incredibly costly to both countries, given the integration of their economies.
Given the size disparity between the two countries, the impact will be bigger in Canada.
Prest said that in the face of Trump’s annexation taunts, Canada had so far acted in a manner that makes it seem as though Trump has a point.
“Rather than pushing back by defending Canada’s strong record in managing its part of the border relationship, the government immediately promised more than $1 billion in new border spending. Canada’s leaders have failed to call out Trump’s threats as the bluster of a bully,” he said.
