Justin Trudeau to discuss Trump, Canadian sovereignty with King Charles as US rhetoric picks up speed

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is feeling the heat of Donald Trump’s charged rhetoric and will discuss his nation’s future with the King.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is feeling the heat of Donald Trump’s charged rhetoric and will discuss his nation’s future with King Charles III in a landmark meeting this week.

Trump will be the obvious elephant in the room when the pair meet, with global relations piping hot as a result of the Republican’s flailing about on the world stage.

The polarising President has continued to suggest Canada should become the 51st state of America, comments that have been met with strong opposition across the globe.

Trudeau is currently in London attending a summit on Ukraine, another delicate topic that has been met head-on by the Trump administration as it attempts to shake up negotiations with various friends and foes.

When asked about his upcoming chat with the head of state, the Canadian PM made it clear where he stands on the topic of becoming an American.

When asked about his upcoming chat with the head of state, the Canadian PM made it clear where he stands on the topic of becoming an American.Picture: Justin Tallis /Getty Images

“I can tell you that nothing is more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation,” he said.

Trump has routinely labelled Trudeau the “governor” instead of prime minister and has further attempted to assert dominance over the USA’s most important neighbour with new tariffs set to take effect Tuesday. Trump has implied they could be avoided if Canada were simply part of the United States.

As it stands under constitutional convention, the monarch speaks on Commonwealth matters only at the advice of the prime minister. But with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently extending an invitation for Trump’s second state visit to the UK, there may be an opportunity for King Charles to weigh in. Picture: Leon Neal / AFP

Trudeau previously warned that Trump’s rhetoric about annexing Canada to tap into its natural resources is “a real thing,” a concern that has even sparked questions about the future role of King Charles and the royals in relation to the Commonwealth nation.

As it stands under constitutional convention, the monarch speaks on Commonwealth matters only at the advice of the prime minister. But with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently extending an invitation for Trump’s second state visit to the UK, there may be an opportunity for King Charles to weigh in.

Trump’s comments are picking up speed

It initially sounded like a feverish attempt at stirring up bad blood, but Trump’s repeated references to Canada as the “51st state” have picked up speed.

Before a US vs Canada ice hockey match last week, the President used the opportunity to goad their northern neighbours once more.

Trump posted on social media that his message to the team was “to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.”

Brawls between players and booing by Canadian fans of the US national anthem marked the teams’ previous meeting in Montreal on Saturday in the Four Nations Face-Off tournament.

Earlier in February, Trump told reporters from the Oval Office: “What I’d like to see – Canada become our 51st state. I’d love to see that, but some people say that would be a long shot.”

Mr Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January and will leave office once Canada’s Liberal Party selects a new leader, spoke for millions in his country when he said “no deal”.

It initially sounded like a feverish attempt at stirring up bad blood, but Trump’s repeated references to Canada as the ‘51st state’ have picked up speed. Picture: Ludovic MARIN / AFP

“I suggest that not only does the Trump administration know how many critical minerals we have, but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state,” the outgoing Prime Minister said at the time.

Canada is home to 31 minerals, many of them considered essential to modern technology including mobile phones, electric car batteries, solar panels and defence applications.

“They’re very aware of our resources of what we have, and they very much want to be able to benefit from those,” Mr Trudeau said of the US.

“But Mr Trump has it in mind that one of the easiest ways of doing that is absorbing our country. And it is a real thing.”

Mr Trump’s repeated talk of annexing Canada spans as far back as his November election, and was originally brushed off as a joke by Mr Trudeau and his government.

But ahead of his inauguration in January, Mr Trump pledged to use “economic force” to compel the union, describing their border as an “artificially drawn line”.

“Because Canada and the United States, that would really be something,” Mr Trump said, though ruled out the use of military might.

“You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security.”

“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,” Mr Trudeau said in response to the remarks.

“Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.”