Chrystia Freeland says Trump is 'threatening our sovereignty,' Canada should build security relationship with nuclear-capable NATO allies

One of the candidates seeking to succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister has proposed strengthening alliances with nuclear-capable Britain and France in order to protect Canada from the "threat" of Trump.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said during the Liberal leadership debate that those nukes could work as deterents against threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly stated that the United States should annex Canada and incorporate it as the 51st state. Canadian government officials have expressed deep concern over the comments as a threat to national sovereignty. Lame duck Prime Minister Trudeau has dismissed the idea of Canada becoming part of the US.  

Chrystia Freeland, who previously served as deputy prime minister under Trudeau, described Trump as a direct "threat" to Canada's independence due to his comments about annexation and has thus decided to consider the nuclear option. The former Trudeau right-hand man said that in closer defense cooperation with Britain and France, their nuclear capabilities could serve as a strategic asset "at a time when the United States can pose a threat."  
 

“He is clearly threatening our sovereignty and we need to respond,” Freeland said. “For the first time since the Second World War, the US rather than guaranteeing the rules-based order, the US is turning predator. So what Canada needs to do is work closely with our democratic allies, our military allies.

“I’ve been foreign minister, I know how to do that. That’s why I would start with our Nordic partners, specifically Denmark, which is also being threatened, and our European NATO allies. I’d be sure that France and Britain were there, who possess nuclear weapons, and I’d be working urgently with those partners to build a closer security relationship that guarantees our security in a time when the United States can be a threat.

“I would also, crucially, reach out to our Asian democratic partners—Japan, South Korea, Australia. They need to be part of the conversation, too. We need to be ready for a world where the US is not the leader of the free world anymore. Canada can be and must be a leader in building this new order. Our allies are looking to us, and if we do this we’ll make ourselves safer as well," Freeland stated during the final Liberal Party leadership debate last week.  

Trump has argued that Canada "is not viable as a country" without economic ties to the US.  

She also said "Trump wants to turn Canada into the 51st state, and it's no joke," reports Newsweek.

Freeland linked Trump’s stance on Canada to his position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, stating, "That is why he is supporting [Russian President] Vladimir Putin's criminal attempt to redraw Ukraine's borders. Trump wants to redraw our borders, too."  

On Monday, Trudeau met with King Charles III, who serves as Canada’s head of state as part of the Commonwealth. It is unclear whether Trump’s remarks on annexation were part of their discussions.  

Trudeau has previously addressed the issue, stating, "There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States. Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other's biggest trading and security partner."