US President – elect Donald Trump (AFP file picture)
OTTAWA – US President-elect Donald Trump mentioned Wednesday it could be “an excellent concept” for Canada to turn into the 51st US state, teasing on social media that “many Canadians” welcome the thought, as Ottawa is wracked by political turmoil.
“They’d save massively on taxes and army safety. I believe it’s a nice concept. 51st State!!!” he added.
The put up is just not the primary time Trump has publicly mused on the concept, a joke that some have present in unhealthy style, notably following the shock resignation of Canada’s deputy prime minister on Monday.
A Leger public opinion survey this week discovered 13 % of Canadians assist the notion of linking up with their southern neighbor.
When Trump made the identical remark to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida in late November, howls of laughter reportedly erupted.
In line with Fox Information, Trump prompt that merging the 2 nations wouldn’t solely resolve his considerations about fentanyl trafficking, over which he has threatened a 25-percent tariff on Canadian items however might additionally stem unlawful immigration — a difficulty that primarily impacts the US southern border.
His suggestion raised eyebrows in Ottawa with some commenting that it was “not humorous,” humiliating and a not-so-subtle risk on the a part of the incoming US chief.
Since then, Trump has repeatedly referred to Trudeau in social media posts because the governor of Canada — a title utilized by leaders of the 50 US states.
The jabs might have turn into extra worrying for Canadians for the reason that resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland this week, which spurred requires Trudeau to give up.
‘Boxer working a minimize’
Former Trudeau advisor Gerald Butts reacted on social media: “Trump is sort of a boxer working a minimize.”
Norman Spector, an ex-staffer to former Canadian prime minister and Trump {golfing} buddy Brian Mulroney, puzzled if Trump significantly needed to annex america’ northern neighbor.
“That may by no means occur,” College of British Columbia politics professor Max Cameron informed AFP.
“Nothing may very well be a better obstacle to Canada extra intently integrating with america than Donald Trump in workplace in Washington,” he added.
“I think that is all a part of a sample of bullying that’s how he approaches negotiations.”
Queen’s College professor Stephanie Chouinard echoed that view, saying Trump “is making the most of the chaos in Canadian politics this week to additional antagonize Trudeau.”
Public Security Minister Dominic LeBlanc has insisted that regardless of Trump’s teasing, he and Trudeau have had “productive” discussions with the president-elect and his crew.
On Tuesday, LeBlanc and Immigration Minister Marc Miller introduced border safety and immigration measures geared toward placating Trump, together with hiring a whole lot of latest police and border officers, and aligning Canada’s asylum system with america’ to shortly weed out claims that don’t meet necessities.
Ottawa has additionally proposed organising a joint Canada-US “strike power” to fight transnational crime teams, and beef up its army spending.
Trump in his put up additionally mentioned america was subsidizing Canada “to the tune of over $1,000,000,000 a 12 months. Is unnecessary!”
It was unclear what Trump’s determine was referring to.
In line with US information for 2022, the commerce deficit with Canada was $53.5 billion. Most economists dismiss this as insignificant when in comparison with the $909 billion price of products and companies traded by the 2 international locations.
Julien Martin, an economics professor on the College of Quebec in Montreal, defined that for Republicans below Trump, “commerce deficits are an enormous downside for the American financial system.”
They symbolize “job losses and the decline of the manufacturing sector,” he mentioned.