Canada’s PM hits back at Trump statements

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has hit back at Donald Trump’s threat to use “economic force” to absorb Canada into the US.

BBC News says at a news conference today, President-elect Trump reiterated his threat to bring in a 25% tariff on Canadian goods unless the country took steps to increase security on the shared US border.

Mr Trump  also reportedly said, “You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security.”

In a post on Facebook, Mr Trudeau said, “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.”

Meanwhile, Mr Trump has also reportedly threatened “very high” tariffs on Denmark if it resists his effort to take control of Greenland, which is an autonomous Danish territory.

Asked during the news conference if he would rule out using military or economic force in order to take control of the strategically-important island, he said: “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two. I can say this, we need them for economic security.”

Greenland lies on the shortest route from North America to Europe and is home to a large American space facility.

BBC News says it also has some of the largest deposits of rare earth minerals, which are crucial in the manufacture of batteries and high-tech devices.

Responses