Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with King Charles III in London on Monday. While neither side divulged the contents of the conversation, as is custom with the king, Trudeau told reporters beforehand he would address threats to Canada’s “sovereignty.”
Observers interpreted Trudeau’s concern about sovereignty and “independence” to be a reference to President Donald Trump’s repeated public statements expressing interest in annexing Canada, referring to the country as the “51st state” and mocking Trudeau as its “governor.” King Charles, who also serves as the head of state and, thus, king of Canada, has not publicly commented on Trump’s remarks at press time.
Trudeau was in the United Kingdom for a summit intended to express solidarity to Ukraine, attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky following a disastrous engagement with Trump on Friday in which he was expelled from the White House for perceived rudeness. Zelensky was in the United States to sign a cooperative agreement on the rare-earth mineral industry that received little attention during his time there and appears to have been paused, if not entirely abandoned, at press time.
Buckingham Palace confirmed the king’s meeting with Trudeau on Monday but the topics of discussion remained unlisted, and the two did not hold any public event to meet with reporters. Canada’s CBC news outlet reported that, according to the U.K., Trudeau would set the topic of discussion. Prior to the meeting, on Sunday, Trudeau indicated that he would address Canadian “sovereignty” concerns.
“I look forward to sitting down with His Majesty tomorrow; as always we will discuss matters of importance to Canada and Canadians,” Trudeau told reporters. “And I can tell you that nothing seems more important to Canadians than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation.”
Trudeau did not mention the United States or Trump by name, though most reports on his comments suggested this was likely the specific threat he was addressing. Trump has not made any publicly known moves to annex Canada or seize its territory, but has repeatedly made comments dismissing its sovereignty, which some – but notably not Trudeau – have dismissed as jokes.
“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada,” Trump wrote in a social media post in December following Trudeau visiting Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida estate, in December. Trump was not yet president, but had announced a plan to impose a 25-percent tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods in response to what he described as uncontrolled illegal immigration and drug trafficking on America’s borders with both. “I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all!”
That visit to Mar-a-Lago proved fateful for Trudeau. Following his return home, one of his closest political allies, then-Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, resigned, arguing Trudeau was not handling Trump’s tariff threats with sufficient vigor. The loss of Freeland prompted Trudeau to announce that he would resign the prime ministership after serving for a decade. Trudeau organized an election for a new Liberal Party leader scheduled for late March, trudging along as a lame duck leader until Parliament, which he paralyzed until the Liberals elected a new leader, schedules an election.
As president, Trump has made comments claiming Canada would be more prosperous under Washington than under Ottawa. During an interview in February prior to the Super Bowl, Trump said, “I think Canada would be much better off being the 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada. And I’m not going to let that happen.”
Trudeau has appeared to interpret Trump’s comments to mean that the American president is seriously considering annexing Canada.
“Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing,” Trudeau was caught saying in private comments accidentally broadcast by loudspeaker at a business event in early February. “They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have and they very much want to be able to benefit from those.”
Trudeau received some pressure at home before traveling to London to address Trump’s comments with the British.
“The Government of Canada should ask the Head of State to underscore Canadian sovereignty,” former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney wrote in a message last week, specifically calling for Trudeau to raise the issue with King Charles.
King Charles has not only not addressed the Canada comments but has maintained positive relations with Trump. Shortly before meeting with Trudeau, King Charles invited Trump to a state visit to the United Kingdom. Trump would be the first world leader in history to receive a second such invitation; he made a state visit to the U.K. during his first term as president. The invitation arrived via leftist British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who visited the White House shortly before Zelensky last week. Reporters asked Starmer about the “51st state” comments during his visit, to which he replied that journalists were “trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t exist.”
“We’re the closest of nations, and we had very good discussions today. But we didn’t discuss Canada,” he asserted.
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