From 51 to 28
On Nov. 29, 2024, a few days after his election victory, Donald Trump invited then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to one of his hotels in Florida. It was an unexpected meeting that led to an even more surprising announcement: Trump suggested that Canada could become the 51st state of the Union and that Trudeau could automatically become the governor of the new state. The Canadian delegation took it as a joke — until they saw Trump’s true colors through his tax policies. The United States has ended up imposing tariffs of up to 50% on a wide range of Canadian products.
Trudeau’s successor, Mark Carney, far from being intimidated, also imposed tariffs at the same rate on U.S. exports and has been highly critical of Trump’s policies at every opportunity. Take, for example, his much-talked-about speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last January, in which he urged middle-income countries to unite and coordinate their efforts to promote a third way and stand up to more powerful nations like the U.S.
With these credentials, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen rolled out the red carpet for him in Strasbourg and on Tuesday proposed that Canada become the European Union’s first “associate member.” Carney accepted the challenge yesterday during the same plenary session of the European Parliament and expressed his delight at the suggestion. We’ll see how these gestures of goodwill ultimately translate into tangible agreements, but Canada seems more open to collaborating with the EU than the United Kingdom itself — which is struggling to extricate itself from the impact of Brexit — or Iceland, where its citizens have just rejected, via referendum, the resumption of talks on the country’s accession to the EU.
A few weeks ago, Finnish President Alexander Stubb poked fun at Trump’s proposal, saying that Canada should be the 28th member state of the EU rather than the 51st state of the U.S. This seems impossible, but it is worth exploring the great opportunities for collaboration between the two sides. Trump is driving Canada into Europe’s arms.
Trudeau’s successor, Mark Carney, far from being intimidated, also imposed tariffs at the same rate on U.S. exports and has been highly critical of Trump’s policies at every opportunity. Take, for example, his much-talked-about speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last January, in which he urged middle-income countries to unite and coordinate their efforts to promote a third way and stand up to more powerful nations like the U.S.
With these credentials, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen rolled out the red carpet for him in Strasbourg and on Tuesday proposed that Canada become the European Union’s first “associate member.” Carney accepted the challenge yesterday during the same plenary session of the European Parliament and expressed his delight at the suggestion. We’ll see how these gestures of goodwill ultimately translate into tangible agreements, but Canada seems more open to collaborating with the EU than the United Kingdom itself — which is struggling to extricate itself from the impact of Brexit — or Iceland, where its citizens have just rejected, via referendum, the resumption of talks on the country’s accession to the EU.
A few weeks ago, Finnish President Alexander Stubb poked fun at Trump’s proposal, saying that Canada should be the 28th member state of the EU rather than the 51st state of the U.S. This seems impossible, but it is worth exploring the great opportunities for collaboration between the two sides. Trump is driving Canada into Europe’s arms.
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