Recently, U.S. President-elect Trump once again mocked Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, calling him the 'Governor of Canada', which triggered strong dissatisfaction from Canadian media and politicians. According to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on December 11, several senior Canadian officials refuted Trump's comments, emphasizing that Canada is a sovereign country and will take measures to defend its national interests.
The Calgary Herald also pointed out that Trump, as the President-elect of the U.S., implied that the Canadian Prime Minister is not a leader of an independent country, 'it is hard to imagine a more serious insult than this.'
In response to Trump's remarks, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stated that Canada is a 'great country' and 'I want to tell the Canadian people that the Canadian government is determined to defend national interests.' When asked if Canada should take Trump's comments seriously, she said the media should ask Trump.
Anita Anand, Chair of the Canadian Finance Committee, emphasized that Canada is a sovereign country and that the government will do everything possible to respond to Trump's tariff threats. She believes that Trump understands the importance of U.S.-Canada bilateral relations, 'Prime Minister Trudeau was the first G7 leader to meet with President Trump, which I think is very significant.'
Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, Canada, stated that he is more concerned about Trump's tariff threats than Trump's mockery of Trudeau because increased tariffs from the U.S. could push the Canadian economy into recession. Ford called on the Canadian government to strengthen border management, raise military spending to 2% of GDP as required by NATO, and develop specific plans to address tariff threats.
'If appropriate, we will take retaliatory measures, but I hope we never have to do that,' Ford said. 'It is not worth it; cooperation will make us stronger. The country that the U.S. President should be least worried about is its close ally Canada.'
However, the Canadian opposition parties accused Trudeau of being too 'weak'. Canadian Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre criticized on the 8th: 'Ultimately, Trudeau is a weak leader who does not earn the respect of countries around the world. We should negotiate with our American friends from a stronger position; Canada should be independent, strong, and proud.'
Photo of Trump posted on social media with Trudeau.
At the end of last month, Trump issued tariff threats against Canada and Mexico, threatening to impose a 25% tariff on all imported goods from the two countries to address illegal immigration and drug problems.
On November 29 local time, Trudeau made a surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago to discuss the bilateral relationship with Trump face-to-face. U.S. media reported that although Trump appeared very warm and friendly, he firmly demanded that Canada find ways to address border immigration and trade deficit issues. Trump also joked that if Canada couldn't solve the problems, perhaps Canada could become the 51st state of the U.S., and Trudeau could be the governor.
Last weekend, Trump, in an interview with NBC, again talked about the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico, 'We subsidize Canada over $100 billion a year, and the subsidy to Mexico is close to $300 billion. We shouldn't be doing this, why are we subsidizing these countries? If we are going to subsidize them, let them become a state.'
On December 10 local time, Trump again posted on his self-created social media platform, 'Truth Social', stating: 'I had a great dinner with the wonderful Governor of the Great State of Canada, Justin Trudeau, the other night, and I was very pleased. I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so we can continue our in-depth negotiations on tariffs and trade. The results of the negotiations will be truly amazing for everyone.'
CBC believes that Trump's mockery of Trudeau may be due to Trudeau's 'strong statement' regarding tariff threats. On the 9th, Trudeau stated that if Trump imposed new tariffs on Canadian products, 'we will certainly respond in various ways to unfair tariffs, just like we did eight years ago.'
Trudeau was referring to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Canadian steel and aluminum in 2018, which led the Canadian government to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, forcing Trump to cancel the tariffs a year later.
Trump's jokes have already caused some unease among Canadian media. The Calgary Herald stated that Trump, as the President-elect of the U.S., implied that the Canadian Prime Minister is not a leader of an independent country, 'it is hard to imagine a more destructive insult.'
The report also mentioned that jokes about 'annexing Canada' are spreading within the United States. For example, Jesse Watters, a host on the conservative media Fox News, recently claimed on his show that Canada has vast oil reserves and has industries such as mining, agriculture, fisheries, and technology, 'there are many reasons for it to become a state of the U.S.'
(The Calgary Herald) pointed out that the idea of American expansionism has a long history. American journalists proposed the term 'Manifest Destiny' in 1845, advocating that the U.S. has the right to control all of North America. 'Now that Britain is no longer a protector, our allies are also allies of the U.S. Who will lend us a helping hand? Russia?'
The newspaper bluntly stated that what Trump said might indeed just be a joke, but he is clearly toying with Canada, 'like a cat playing with a mouse.'
Currently, the Canadian government is adopting a 'carrot and stick' strategy to respond to tariff threats, preparing retaliatory measures while trying to persuade Trump. Sources told the Associated Press on November 27 that Canada is preparing for every possible scenario and is researching potential 'retaliatory tariffs' on certain goods from the U.S., but no decisions have been made yet.