Bullish Donald Trump has insisted “Canada would cease to exist as a country” without the US buying goods from it.
The arrogant remark comes as Canadians prepare for the country’s general election, a campaign dominated by the US-Canada relationship. This issue has become more divisive in recent weeks as Mr Trump, 78, has repeatedly threatened to make Canada the US’s 51st state through economic coercion.
And the world leader has stoked the fire again today by stressing Canada would “cease to exist” if it weren’t for the US. During a signing ceremony inside the Oval Office, Mr Trump said: “I have to be honest, as a state, it works great… We don’t really want Canada to make cars for us, to put it bluntly. We want to make our own cars.”
Canada exports, including to the US, automotives and oil, both of which Mr Trump insists the US can produce itself – or get elsewhere. His arrogant attitude continues despite a poignant call with Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney recently.
Mr Trump has a 25% tariff on cars. He has separate 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, believed to be his ploy to address drug smuggling into the US. He continued: “I really don’t want cars from Canada. So when I put tariffs on Canada, they’re paying 25%, but that could go up in terms of cars. When we put tariffs on, all we’re doing is we’re saying, ‘We don’t want your cars in all due respect.”
Before Mr Trump’s latest dig, Canadians spoke to the BBC about what makes the country different from the US. A student in Ontario described his nation as “very multicultural” while a pensioner in British Columbia said Canada is “a patchwork made of different languages and cultures.”
The thoughts jar directly with Mr Trump’s attitude on immigration. Earlier this month, the politician classified more than 6,000 living immigrants as “dead” in a brutal move to make them leave the country. It meant the individuals suddenly lost their ability to work or receive benefits, couldn’t use banks or other basic services – because their Social Security numbers were erased from the US system.
Canada, described in the BBC feature by many residents as “a country of freedom”, goes to the polls on Monday April 28. During his campaign, Mr Carney, 60, has said the relationship Canada has had with the United States for the past 40 years has fundamentally changed because of Mr Trump’s tariffs. Mr Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st state led to a surge in Canadian nationalism which has reportedly bolstered Liberal Party poll numbers.
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