King Charles to tell Trump: Canada is not for sale

King Charles will ‘reinforce the power and the strength of the message’ to Donald Trump that ‘Canada is not for sale’ when he visits Ottawa next week.

King Charles III is presented with a Key to Canada House, the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom, by Canada's High Commissioner Ralph Goodale. Picture; AFP.

King Charles will “reinforce the power and the strength of the message” to President Trump that “Canada is not for sale” when he visits the country next week, its high commissioner has said.

Visiting the country for the first time as its head of state, the King will travel with the Queen to Ottawa on Monday to open parliament.

Yesterday Charles and Camilla toured Canada House in Trafalgar Square, where they were shown a giant map of the country’s historic sites.

Ralph Goodale, the high commissioner, said that the royals’ visit would be significant.

Mark Carney, the newly elected prime minister, has insisted Canada is not for sale after Trump said after his election as president that the country should become America’s 51st state.

Goodale said: “The prime minister has made it clear that Canada is not for sale – is not for sale ever – and I think he probably added five ‘nevers’ after that to make the point. The King, as head of state, will reinforce the power and the strength of that message and it is, as I said before, captured in our anthem. We are the true north, strong and free, and we will stay that way.”

King Charles III and Queen Camilla are shown a map of Canada on the floor of Canada House, by Canada's High Commissioner Ralph Goodale (3R). Picture: AFP.

Charles and Camilla were welcomed on the steps of Canada House by two Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers before being shown inside to see a giant floor map of the country. “It’s brilliant, it really is,” Charles said as he walked across the map. “I wish I could bring it every time I go to Canada to remind myself where I’m going and where I’ve been.”

The King and Queen split up as they were shown points of interest. Charles was shown the Wood Buffalo national park in western Canada, where wood bison are being reintroduced, and the Torngat Mountains in northeast Canada. Goodale pointed out Churchill in northern Manitoba on the map and told the King: “I had my first audience with Her Majesty [Elizabeth II] in 2021 and she was speaking very fondly of visiting Churchill and seeing the polar bears.” He went on to point out the 1.2km land border between Canada and Denmark at the top of the map.

The Queen, wearing a cream crepe silk dress in a floral print by Fiona Clare, was shown an area near Montreal. She said she had visited the area in Quebec on a family holiday and described it as “lovely”.

Pointing to an area on the map, Robert Fry, the deputy high commissioner, told the Queen: “That was also where the battle of Quebec was fought, when the British took over Canada from the French.” The map features other sites of interest, including battles fought during the 1812 war between the US and Britain, although these were not pointed out to the King and Queen.

Their visit marks the 100th anniversary of Canada House, which was opened in June 1925 by George V. Charles was presented with the key to the building, created by Morgan Asoyuf, an indigenous Ts’myen Canadian artist. The gift echoed that presented to his great-grandfather, which was cast in Canadian bronze, silver and nickel. Standing on a stage to present the gift, Goodale said: “Your presence here today launches your journey to Canada next week. This will be your 20th visit but your first as reigning monarch. Your dear mother, Queen Elizabeth II, often said to the delight of Canadians that a journey to Canada felt like coming home. We hope that you feel exactly the same way.”

Speaking after the visit, Perry Bellegarde, a First Nations advocate and honorary president of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, said that the King’s “throne speech” at the opening of parliament next week was “a huge deal”. He added said: “To have the head of state, the monarch, come, is huge. And to read the speech from the throne sends a very strong message that Canada is an independent, sovereign country.”

Charles and Camilla will be in Canada for less than 24 hours and will remain in Ottawa. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The King and Queen are very much looking forward to the program, mindful that it is a short visit but hopefully an impactful one.”

The spokesman said the visit was a “significant moment”.

The Times