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As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters continue to pester Canada to become the 51st state, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Canada says he’s concerned Canadians may feel like Americans don’t support them. they respect.
David Cohen told CBC the house in 2022 that Canadians felt “betrayed” because they “do not believe that their affection and respect for the United States has been reciprocated by the United States.”
In a follow-up interview Tuesday with the houseCohen was asked if Canadians feel disrespected again as Trump continues to joke about Canada joining the US.
“I think it’s fair to say that worries me,” Cohen told Catherine Cullen, host of the CBC show. the house, in an interview broadcast Saturday.
“A big part of my message to Canadians over the last three years was that they are suffering from an inferiority complex that they do not deserve.”
Cohen, who will leave his post in Ottawa early next year, also said that to “have a healthy relationship, there has to be mutual respect” between the two countries.
The outgoing ambassador also added: “I don’t know if being the 51st state is a terrible thing.”
Over the past two weeks, Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada should become an American state, sometimes citing the trade imbalance between the two countries. He has also referred to the prime minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau” several times.
Senior Canadian officials (including Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who attended a dinner in Florida with the president-elect) have suggested that Trump is simply trolling and is not seriously suggesting that Canada become a US state.
Cohen noted that “Canadians had a pretty good response: Maybe it would be better if the United States became Canada’s 11th province… It’s joking and not necessarily disrespectful.”
He said the relationship between Canada and the United States is “much deeper” than that of the president and prime minister and extends to Congress, the business community and state legislatures.
“And I hear nothing but continued respect, appreciation and admiration for Canada from all those sources,” Cohen said.
During a press conference Monday, LeBlanc discussed his dinner with the president-elect in Florida and said he considered Trump’s comments about Canada becoming the 51st state a “lighthearted joke.”
“He continued to say some of these things on social media,” LeBlanc said. “Once again, it is not our government’s job to respond to everything Trump posts.”
LeBlanc said it will be meeting with Trump’s border czarTom Homan after Christmas to discuss Canada’s proposed $1.3 billion plan to secure the Canada-U.S. border.
“I am confident that we will have a cordial and collaborative discussion with the incoming Trump administration, but we have a lot of work to do,” LeBlanc said.
