Kristen Hillman, Canadian ambassador to the U.S., said on Sunday that her country takes its sovereignty “seriously” as President Trump appears to be holding firm in his ambitions to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Fox News anchor Jacqui Heinrich asked whether Canada’s new prime minister, former central banker Mark Carney, hasn’t connected yet with Trump because of the U.S. president’s remarks about making Canada the 51st state.
“I think we take seriously our sovereignty. We take seriously the will of Canadians, and over 91 percent of Canadians are, you know, not interested in a discussion around joining the U.S.,” Hillman said. “So I think he takes that seriously.
“And that’s not a slight to the president, and that’s not a slight to the American people,” she continued. “It’s an expression of our own patriotism and our own sense of who we are as a country.”
Hillman said, however, that she’s confident that the two countries’ leaders will connect soon, noting the Canadians have already reached out, and, “We’re looking forward to having that, you know, having them connect.”
“So I think Prime Minister Carney will be looking to speak with the President as soon as possible and looking to forge a good and solid relationship,” Hillman said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday faced pointed questions from Canadian journalists over the seriousness of Trump’s calls for Canada to become the 51st state. He said Trump’s pitch to annex Canada was not on the agenda of the Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec, but was pressed on the president’s antagonism toward America’s northern neighbor.
“The Canadian government has made their position clear. The president has made his argument clear as to why he thinks Canada would be better off joining as a state for economic purposes,” Rubio said.
“There is a disagreement between the two. That was not a topic of conversation, because that’s not what this summit was about.”
Rubio said Trump’s stance on Canada joining the U.S. came following a dinner conversation with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who warned of the economic costs on Canada by Trump’s then-threats of tariffs.
“At that point, the president said Canada should become a U.S. state. POTUS has made an argument about why Canada would be better off economically being a state, and I think that stands for itself,” Rubio said, referring to the president.
