Canadian US ambassador Kirsten Hillman said on Sunday that her country is “serious” with sovereignty as President Trump appears to be sticking to her ambitions to make Canada the 51st US.
In an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” Fox News anchor Jacqui Heinrich asked if Canada's new prime minister, former central bank Mark Carney, has yet to connect with Trump due to the US president's remarks about making Canada a 51st state.
“I think we take our sovereignty seriously. We take the will of Canadians seriously and we know that over 91% of Canadians are not interested in debates about participation in the US,” Hillman said. “So I think he takes it seriously.
“And that's not a small amount for the president. That's not a small amount for the Americans,” she continued. “It's an expression of our own patriotism, our own sense of who we are as a nation.”
However, Hillman said he is confident that both countries' leaders will soon be connected, noting that Canadians have already reached out to them. “We look forward to having it.
“So I think Prime Minister Carney is trying to talk to the president as soon as possible.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced sharp questions from Canadian journalists on Friday about the seriousness of Trump's demand for Canada to become the 51st state. He said Trump's pitch to the annex to Canada isn't on the agenda of a group of seven foreign ministers they meet in Chalebois, Quebec, but it was pressed by the president's hostility towards America's northern neighbors.
“The Canadian government has made their position clear. The president has made his argument clear about why Canada thinks it's better to participate as a nation for economic purposes,” Rubio said.
“There's a disagreement between the two. It wasn't the topic of conversation because that's not the purpose of this summit.”
Rubio said Trump's stance on Canada joined the United States, followed a dinner conversation with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“At that point, the president said Canada should be a US state. Potus is debating why Canada is better than being an economically national, and I think it represents itself,” Rubio said, referring to the president.
