Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told business leaders that U.S. President Donald Trump’s interest in annexing Canada was a very real plan aimed at controlling the country’s vast mineral resources.
Trudeau was caught on a hot mic giving his assessment of Trump’s threat to take control of America’s northern neighbor.
“I suggest that not only does the Trump administration know how many critical minerals we have but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state,” he said. “They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have, and they very much want to benefit from those. However, Mr. Trump has it in mind that one of the easiest ways of doing this is by absorbing our country. And it is a real thing.”
These remarks were made after Trudeau ushered the media out of the room. He continued to talk about his “conversation” with Trump, then realized the mic was still on and ordered a staffer to turn off the recording device.
Canadian Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne believes Trump’s tough talk about annexing Canada is a negotiation tactic. He says Canada is not changing its strategy around critical minerals.
“They need us more than ever. They understand, particularly the military guys, they are very worried about strategy in terms of being their partner, in terms of critical minerals, yeah,” he said. “I would say this is a great leverage for Canada because the military folks understand that they cannot rebuild their industrial base, their defense, military industrial base, without Canada.”
Unifor President Lana Payne, a union leader concerned about annexation and tariffs, says she is “taking everything seriously right now because I have a lot of members whose jobs are at stake in this climate of chaos and instability.”
With information from CNN
San Miguel Times
Newsroom
