- In private comments to business leaders, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he takes President Donald Trump’s calls to annex Canada seriously. Trudeau said he believes Trump wants better access to the country’s natural resources.
- A reporter from the Toronto Star broke news of the comments after conference organizers failed to turn Trudeau’s microphones off.
- Canada and the U.S. have delayed tariffs planned for this month as Canada works to improve border security and anti-fentanyl trafficking efforts.
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Publicly, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has downplayed U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls for the U.S. to annex Canada, calling it a joke. However, in a closed-door session with business leaders Friday, Feb. 7, Trudeau said he feels Trump might be serious.
The comments, first reported by the Toronto Star after conference organizers unknowingly left Trudeau’s microphone on, signaled that Trump may be interested in the annexation to access Canada’s natural resources.
Canada is among the world’s largest producers of oil, lumber, wheat and metals, including gold, platinum and nickel.
Trudeau said he believed Trump wanted to benefit from Canada’s available resources and considered annexing the country one of the easiest ways.
Canada and the U.S. delayed plans to implement tariffs against many of each other’s goods earlier this month. Canada agreed to boost its border security and anti-fentanyl trafficking efforts to secure the delay of 25% tariffs on Canadian non-energy goods and 10% tariffs on Canadian energy products.
Canadians across the political spectrum have opposed Trump’s annexation calls. For Canada to legally join the United States, both houses of parliament and the legislatures of all 10 provinces would need to approve, a nearly impossible barrier.
