US Secretary of State talks about the origin of the idea of ​​annexing Canada

US President Donald Trump's continued interest in annexing Canada as the 51st US state began with a conversation he had with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

At a press conference after the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Quebec (Canada) on March 14, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed the idea of ​​merging Canada into the US that President Trump has repeatedly raised recently, according to The Hill.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Accordingly, Secretary Rubio alluded to the meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Trudeau in December 2024 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida (USA). At that time, Mr. Trudeau was still the Canadian prime minister, and Mr. Trump was the US president-elect.

"Mr. Trump says he loves Canada. He makes the argument why Canada would be better off joining the United States from an economic perspective and things like that. He's made that argument many times, and I think it's compelling," Rubio said, according to Global News .

Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau acknowledged that he expressed concerns about the economic impact of tariffs during a meeting with Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, but declined to confirm whether he said Canada could not survive if the U.S. imposed tariffs.

In an interview aired on Fox News last month, Mr. Trump emphasized: "I think Canada would be much better off being the 51st state of the United States because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada. And I'm not going to let that happen." Federal statistics show that the US trade deficit in goods and services with Canada in 2024 is $35.7 billion, according to CNN.

Secretary Rubio added that tariffs and President Trump's call to annex Canada were not on the agenda of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting. For her part, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the group's ministers agreed from the start that contentious issues would not prevent them from cooperating.

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he has no plans to discuss with President Trump, but Canada will stand firm against the threat of annexation. "Canada will never become part of the United States in any form," new Prime Minister Carney stressed.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ngoai-truong-my-noi-ve-can-nguyen-y-tuong-sap-nhap-canada-185250315162738666.htm