Watch Mark Carney sworn in as Canadian prime minister
Mark Carney, who has never held political office, was sworn in as prime minister of Canada.
As Canadians prepare to vote for prime minister in an election where President Donald Trump looms large, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated the president’s desire to make Canada a U.S. state.
“They’ll have their elections this week,” Rubio said about Canada on NBC’s “Meet the Press”. “They’re going to have a new leader, and we’ll deal with a new leadership of Canada. There are many things we work with cooperatively on Canada on, but we actually don’t like the way they treated us when it comes to trade.”
Pressed by “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker whether Trump still wants to make Canada part of the United States, Rubio responded: “I think the president has stated repeatedly he thinks Canada would be better off as a state. I mean, he has said that based on what he was told by the previous prime minister, who said Canada can’t survive unless it treats the U.S. unfairly in trade.”
Trump began pressuring Canada on trade issues before taking office and repeatedly said the country should become a new U.S. state. He recently told Time magazine that he’s serious about Canada becoming part of the United States.
“I’m really not trolling,” Trump told Time. “Canada is an interesting case.” He complained about the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and said the United States doesn’t need Canadian products.
“And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state,” he added.
Trump’s comments are roiling Canadian politics ahead of the April 28 vote for prime minister. The Liberal Party was trailing in polling when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in January that he would resign.
But the latest CBC polling average shows Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney with a slight edge in the race over Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre. Trump’s trade policies and comments about becoming a U.S. state provoked a backlash in Canada and have become a major issue in the race for prime minister.