On November 29, 2024, just days after his electoral victory, Donald Trump invited the then Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, to one of his hotels in Florida. It was an unexpected meeting, which had an even more surprising announcement: Trump suggested that Canada could become the 51st state of the Union and Trudeau could automatically become the governor of the new state. The Canadian delegation took it as a joke, until they saw Trump’s real stance with his tax policies. The United States ended up imposing tariffs of up to 50% on a wide range of Canadian products.
Read more Mark Carney, the unexpected idol of resistance to Trumpism
Trudeau’s successor, Mark Carney, far from being intimidated,
also set tariffs at the same percentage on exports from the United States and whenever he had the opportunity, he has been very critical of Trump’s policies. Like his notable speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last January, where he urged medium-sized countries to unite and coordinate to promote a third way and stand up to the most powerful like the United States.
With these credentials, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has rolled out the red carpet for him in Strasbourg and on Tuesday proposed that Canada become the first “associated country” of the EU. Carney accepted the challenge yesterday in the same plenary session of the European Parliament and was delighted with the suggestion. We will see how these shows of affection end up turning into tangible agreements, but Canada seems more open to collaborating with the EU than the United Kingdom itself, which struggles to shake off the impact of Brexit, or Iceland, where its citizens have just rejected in a referendum the resumption of talks for the country’s accession to the EU.
Read more Jonathan Andic became interested in a therapy that simulated throwing a family member off a cliff
The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, joked a few weeks ago about Trump’s proposal and said that Canada should be the 28th state of the EU instead of the 51st of the United States. This seems impossible, but, on the other hand, it is worth exploring the great opportunities for collaboration between both parties. Trump pushes Canada into Europe’s arms.
Read more Morocco and Israel seal a new framework of diplomatic relations
