Conservative chief Pierre Poilievre is responding to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s ongoing options that Canada turn into the 51st state, saying it would “never happen.”
“I have the strength and the smarts to stand up for this country and my message to incoming President Trump is that first and foremost, Canada will never be the 51st state of the U.S.,” Poilievre stated in an interview with CTV’s Your Morning on Friday.
Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s shock journey to Mar-a-Lago on the finish of November to debate Trump’s risk to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports, Trump has made repeated posts to social media referring to Canada as America’s “51st state” and calling the prime minister “Governor Justin Trudeau.”
Most just lately, Trump posted to Fact Social on Wednesday, writing “Many Canadians need Canada to turn into the 51st State. They might save massively on taxes and army safety. I feel it’s a nice thought. 51st State!!!”
Requested if he thinks Trump’s feedback are humorous, Poilievre stated, “No, I don’t. I think it’s an example of how Justin Trudeau is a total joke. He’s lost control of everything.”
Trudeau has but to reply on to Trump’s jabs, however different federal officers have to date downplayed them.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc was requested by reporters on Thursday in regards to the ongoing feedback, saying Trump is “quite active on social media” however “our government’s job is not to respond to everything that President Trump’s going to post.”
Earlier this week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford rebuked Trump’s feedback, saying Canada will “never be the 51st state.”
Former deputy prime minister and Quebec Premier Jean Charest, in the meantime, is asking Trump’s remarks a “wake-up call.”
“We don’t need to react to what Mr. Trump says every time he tweets. We know the modus operandi. He hits us over the head, gets a reaction, takes whatever we give him, and then negotiates,” Charest stated in an interview with CTV’s Energy Play on Wednesday. “But he is nonetheless sending us a pretty powerful message about ourselves and that we have to get ourselves organized.”
How would Poilievre reply to Trump’s tariff risk?
When requested immediately by host Anne-Marie Mediwake about how he would method Trump and his tariff risk, Poilievre stated he believes Canada and the U.S. “have overlapping interests and values.”
“He wants a deal, and my belief is that he wants America to win. There’s no question, but I want to show him that Canada can win at the same time,” Poilievre stated.
Requested repeatedly by Mediwake about what strain factors he’s keen to push the U.S. on in a possible negotiation, Poilievre stated, “We’re not going to compromise anything to hurt our country’s security or economy, period. And we shouldn’t have to because our interests are aligned.”
Poilievre later added that he would “have to respond with counter-tariffs that will hurt on the American side.”
Conservative MP Javil Jivani has met with U.S. vice-president-elect JD Vance because the tariff risk was made. Jivani has been associates with Vance since they each attended Yale College, and Jivani spoke at Vance’s wedding ceremony.
When requested about whether or not he has a relationship with Trump, Poilievre stated, “I don’t have one right now because I’m not the prime minister.”
“I’ve been very conscientious about putting the country first and avoiding dividing the message,” Poilievre stated.
