Speaking to biographer Robert Hardman, he joked that Canada’s history made it unrealistic: “They have 200 years of history and all that ‘Oh, Canada’ stuff… You can’t deal with that in three and a half years. I think that’s not going to happen.” The US President was interviewed by a royal biographer for his new book about Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In the same interview, the US President also questioned whether Canadians still recognized the King as their head of state as he considered the “problem” of annexing territory during his remaining time in office.
Last year, Trump reportedly told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that the border between the two countries was an “artificially drawn line”.
He added: “Someone many years ago, like a ruler, drew that line – a straight line across the top of the country.”
Trump also reportedly told Carney that a united continent “is the way it was supposed to be”.
Trump later posted an altered image on social media showing the US flag covering Canada, Greenland and Venezuela.
Speaking at a press conference, Carney said: “With respect to Greenland, the future of Greenland is a decision for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.
“We are NATO partners with Denmark, and so our partnership is maintained, our obligations under Article 5 and Article 2 are maintained.”
Article 5 of the NATO treaty covers collective defence, meaning that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members.
The article also said Justin Trudeau had previously warned business leaders that Trump’s threat to take over Canada was “the real deal” and that the president wanted access to Canada’s vital minerals.
Former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations Bob Rae described the threats to Canada’s future as “non-existent”.
Conflict researcher Thomas Homer-Dixon said that Canada “has been critically dependent on the friendship and benignity of the United States”.
He added: “Suddenly, both of those things have disappeared. They have disappeared and I worry that now only Canadians fully understand what that means.”
Trump’s latest comments are likely to do little to calm fears in Canada, where his repeated threats of annexation have already fueled warnings that the country could become the next target of his broader regional ambitions.
A Leger poll published in January found that 31% of Canadians feared a US invasion of their country, while 55% believed Greenland would be Trump’s next target.
