VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s remarks that Canada should become the 51st country drew condemnation and an outpouring of patriotic sentiment from Canada’s former prime minister, who offered to the incoming U.S. leader Here’s some blunt advice: shake!
Jean Chrétien, Canada’s prime minister from 1993 to 2003, joined officials in the U.S.’s northern neighbor in saying Trump’s comments were no longer a joke and could harm America’s closest ally.
In an article published in The Globe and Mail celebrating his 91st birthday, Chrétien wrote that Canada would never agree to become part of the United States.
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He praised Canada’s love of independence and said Trump’s comments amounted to a “totally unacceptable affront and unprecedented threat” to Canada’s sovereignty.
“For Donald Trump to go from one old guy to another, shake your head!” Chretien said. “What makes you think Canadians would give up the best country in the world – which we are, without a doubt – to join the United States?
Trump has lobbed expansionist rhetoric not just at Canada but at other U.S. allies, arguing that the borders of U.S. influence need to extend to the Danish territory of Greenland and south to the Panama Canal.
While many European leaders have reacted with caution, Canadians are not backing down.
“If you think threatening and insulting us will win us over, you really know nothing about us,” Chretien wrote in the article. “We may seem easy-going and mild-mannered. But don’t Misunderstanding, we have backbone and resilience.
The United States imports approximately 60% of its crude oil from Canada, which is also the largest export destination for the 36 U.S. states. Nearly C$3.6 billion (CAD$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border every day.
Canadian officials have been discussing strengthening border security with those in the incoming Trump administration to avoid Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian products.
When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs. In 2018, Canada announced billions of dollars in new tariffs against the United States in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
