Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said President Donald Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state is “a real thing” and is linked to the country’s rich natural resources, local media reported. Trudeau’s comments to business and labor leaders in a closed-door session were mistakenly carried by a loudspeaker, Canada’s public broadcaster CBC reported. “Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing. In my conversations with him on…,” Trudeau said of making Canada a U.S. state before the microphone cut out, according to CBC. Asian shares rise as Trump delays Mexico, Canada tariffs “They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have and they very much want to be able to benefit from those,” Trudeau reportedly said. Trudeau’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a post on social platform X, Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labor, confirmed what Trudeau said. “Yes, I can confirm that Trudeau said his assessment is that what Trump really wants is not action on fentanyl or immigration or even the trade deficit, what he really wants is to either dominate Canada or take it outright,” McGown wrote. Trump has repeatedly suggested Canada would be better off if it agreed to become the 51st U.S. state. Trump pauses tariffs on Canada, Mexico after border security pledge In public comments Friday, Trudeau said Canada must think “tactically and strategically” on how to deal with Trump’s threats to impose hefty tariffs on all Canadian imports. Speaking in Toronto at the opening of a one-day summit on the Canada-U.S. economic relationship, Trudeau said the country must work with the U.S. to avoid tariffs, adding that Canada needs to eliminate internal trade barriers and expand its trade with other nations. “This is a moment,” said Trudeau. “This is a time in our country’s history that really matters.” Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on threats to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, with another 10% tariff on Canadian oil, natural gas and electricity. Trump had threatened the tariffs to ensure greater cooperation from the countries to stop illegal immigration and prevent fentanyl smuggling, but he has also pledged to use tariffs to boost domestic manufacturing and raise revenues for the federal government. Trudeau said Canada can use the 30-day extension to show U.S. officials the country’s increased spending on border security. Canada has announced a $1.3 billion Canadian dollars ($900 million) border security plan that includes drones, helicopters, more border guards and the creation of a joint task force. Trudeau also has promised to appoint a new fentanyl czar, who will serve as the primary liaison between the Canadian and U.S. governments, even though less than 1% of the fentanyl and illegal immigrant crossings into the U.S. come from Canada. “We need to be very deliberate about how we continue to engage closely with the United States to make the case that Canada is responsible for a tiny part of the North American fentanyl problem, but that we are also bitterly touched by this tragedy,” Trudeau said. He added that Canada needs to be prepared if Trump decides to go ahead with the tariffs after 30 days. “We need to be ready to respond robustly,” he said. “We also have to be ready to support Canadians through the responses we’re giving and through a difficult time of tariffs.” Canada had planned to retaliate to the U.S. action with 25% tariffs on $155 billion Canadian dollars ($109 billion) worth of American goods. Trudeau said it’s also time to have “genuine free trade in Canada,” while strengthening its trade relationships with other countries. Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said she is happy the meeting is focused on internal trade, trade diversification and responding to U.S. tariffs. “It’s clear that we can’t just tinker around the edges with incremental steps right now,” she said. “We’ve got to be bold so that businesses and communities can pivot to be more resilient and less reliant on what happens in the U.S.,” Laing said in a statement.

Canada's governing Liberal Party will announce the country's next prime minister on March 9 after a leadership vote that follows the resignation of Justin Trudeau this week, party leaders said late Thursday. Trudeau remains prime minister until a new leader is chosen. The frontrunners for the Liberal leadership are former central banker Mark Carney and ex-Finance Minster Chrystia Freeland, whose abrupt resignation last month forced Trudeau's exit. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, meanwhile, has decided to not enter the race. Joly said that while she’s ready to become the first female leader of the Liberal party, she’s not willing to leave her cabinet posting at a “crucial time” for Canada-US relations. “The reality is, I can’t do both,” she told reporters on Parliament Hill on Friday. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc dashed the hopes of many of his fellow lawmakers Wednesday by becoming the first Cabinet minister to rule out a leadership bid. Trudeau to remain as Canadian PM till March 9 The Liberal Party’s National Board of Directors announced the rules of the race late Thursday. “After a robust and secure nation-wide process, the Liberal Party of Canada will choose a new leader on March 9, and be ready to fight and win the 2025 election,” party president Sachit Mehra said in a statement. The political upheaval comes at a difficult moment for Canada. US President-elect Donald Trump keeps calling Canada the 51st state and has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods. The next Liberal leader could be the shortest-tenured prime minister in the country's history. All three opposition parties have vowed to bring down the Liberals' minority government in a no-confidence vote after parliament resumes on March 24. Recent polls suggest the Liberals’ chances of winning the next election look slim. In the latest poll by Nanos, the Liberals trail the opposition Conservatives 45% to 23%. Trudeau announced his resignation Monday after facing an increasing loss of support both within his party and in the country. The 53-year-old scion of Pierre Trudeau, one of Canada’s most famous prime ministers, became deeply unpopular with voters over a range of issues, including the soaring cost of food and housing as well as surging immigration. Trudeau told Freeland last month he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister, but that she could remain deputy prime minister and the point person for US-Canada relations. Freeland resigned shortly after and released a scathing letter about the government that proved to be the last straw for the embattled leader. She has been talking to her colleagues this week to discuss next steps. After she resigned, Trump called Freeland “totally toxic” and “not at all conducive to making deals.” Freeland was Canada's point person when the US, Canada and Mexico redid its free trade deal during the first Trump administration. Freeland is a combination of many things that seem to irritate Trump: a liberal, a Canadian, and a former journalist. Freeland, who is of Ukrainian heritage, has also been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia Carney is a highly educated economist with Wall Street experience who is widely credited with helping Canada dodge the worst of the 2008 crisis and helping the UK manage Brexit. In 2012, he was named the first foreigner to serve as governor of the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694. His appointment won bipartisan praise in Britain after he served as the head of Canada's central bank and after Canada recovered faster than many other countries from the 2008 financial crisis. He has long been interested in entering politics and becoming prime minister but lacks political experience. He said this week in a statement that he is encouraged by the support he has had, and that he will consider his decision with family over the next few days. The Liberal party said the fee to join the leadership race will be $350,000 Canadian ($243,000) and candidates must declare by Jan. 23. The party said voters for the party leadership must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday said Americans “are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive" and said he will retaliate if Donald Trump goes ahead with them. Speaking at an event put on by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Trudeau also said dealing with Trump will be “a little more challenging” than the last time because Trump’s team is coming in with a much clearer set of ideas of what they want to do right away than after his first election win in 2016. Trudeau, opposition leaders to discuss US ties amid Trump tariff threat The U.S. president-elect has threatened to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico unless they stem the flow of migrants and drugs. “Trump got elected on a commitment to make life better and more affordable for Americans, and I think people south of the border are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive," Trudeau said. On the weekend, Trump appeared in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where the president-elect said he can’t guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers. “Let’s not kid ourselves in any way, shape or form, 25% tariffs on everything going to the United States would be devastating for the Canadian economy," Trudeau said. “It would also, however, mean real hardship for Americans as well. Americans import 65% of their crude oil from Canada, significant amounts of electricity. Just about all the natural gas exported from Canada goes to the United States. They rely on us for steel and aluminum. They rely on us for a range of agriculture imports. All of those things would get more expensive.” If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. Canada's Trudeau revives a Cabinet-level panel to address concerns about a Trump presidency The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, has said tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. “We will of course, as we did eight years ago, respond to unfair tariffs,” Trudeau said. Trudeau said his government is still mulling over “the right ways” to respond, referencing when Canada put billions of new duties in 2018 against the U.S. in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum. Many of the U.S. products were chosen for their political rather than economic impact. For example, Canada imports just $3 million worth of yogurt from the U.S. annually and most of it comes from one plant in Wisconsin, the home state of then-Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. That product was hit with a 10% duty. “It was the fact that we put tariffs on bourbon and Harley-Davidsons and playing cards and Heinz ketchup and cherries and a number of other things that were very carefully targeted because they were politically impactful to the president’s party and colleagues,” Trudeau said. Trudeau said when Trump says things he means them but they also know Trump is trying to insert uncertainty and “a bit of chaos” into democracies. “One of the most important things for us to do is not freak out, not to panic,” Trudeau said. “Knowing these would be absolutely devastating means we have to take them seriously but it does mean we have to be thoughtful and strategic and not going around making our opponents arguments for him but making our arguments in a significant and united way." Canadian officials have said it is unfair to lump Canada in with Mexico. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Most of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled from Asia. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with irregular migrants at the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters at the Canadian border during that time. Trump has also claimed the U.S. is “subsidizing Canada to the tune of over $100 billion a year." On America’s trade deficit Canada’s ambassador to Washington, Kirsten Hillman, told the AP U.S. had a $75 billion trade deficit with Canada last year but noted a third of what Canada sells into the U.S. are energy exports and prices have been high. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states.

India expelled one of Canada’s top diplomats Tuesday, ramping up a confrontation between the two countries over Canadian accusations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver. India, which has dismissed the accusations as absurd, said the expulsion came amid “growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities," according to a statement from its Ministry of External Affairs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to try to calm the diplomatic clash Tuesday, telling reporters that Canada is “not looking to provoke or escalate." Canada expels Indian diplomat as it investigates Sikh activist's killing “We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them and we want to work with the government of India to lay everything clear and to ensure there are proper processes,” he said. "India and the government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness.” On Monday, Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh leader who was killed by masked gunmen in June in Surrey, outside Vancouver. For years, India has said Nijjar, a Canadian citizen born in India, has links to terrorism, an allegation Nijjar denied. What to know about the Sikh movement at the center of the tensions between India and Canada A U.S. official said Trudeau was in contact with President Joe Biden's administration about Canada’s findings before raising them publicly. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Trudeau’s willingness to speak out about the matter was taken by the White House as an indication of the Canadian leader's certainty about what had been found. Canada has yet to provide any evidence of Indian involvement, but if true it would mark a major shift for India, whose security and intelligence branches have long been significant players in South Asia, and are suspected in a number of killings in Pakistan. But arranging the killing of a Canadian citizen in Canada, home to nearly 2 million people of Indian descent, would be unprecedented. India, though, has accused Canada for years of giving free rein to Sikh separatists, including Nijjar. The dueling expulsions have escalated tensions between Canada and India. Trudeau had frosty encounters with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during this month's Group of 20 meeting in New Delhi, and a few days later Canada canceled a trade mission to India planned for the fall. India dismisses allegations of killing Sikh activist in Canada as 'absurd', expels senior Canadian diplomat Nijjar, a plumber, was also a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan. A bloody decadelong Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s, until it was crushed in a government crackdown in which thousands of people were killed, including prominent Sikh leaders. Violence spilled across years and continents. In 1984, former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was killed by two of her Sikh bodyguards after she ordered an army operation to flush out heavily armed Sikh separatists barricaded inside Sikhism’s holiest shrine. Her killing led to riots that left more than 2,000 Sikhs dead. The next year, an Air India jetliner flying from Toronto to New Delhi was destroyed by a bomb over the Irish coast, killing 329 people. Officials blamed Sikh separatists. The Khalistan movement has lost much of its political power but still has supporters in the Indian state of Punjab, as well as in the sizable overseas Sikh diaspora. While the active insurgency ended years ago, the Indian government has warned repeatedly that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback. Nijjar was wanted by Indian authorities, who had offered a reward for information leading to his arrest. At the time of his killing he was working with the group Sikhs For Justice, organizing an unofficial Sikh diaspora referendum on independence from India. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer and spokesperson for Sikhs For Justice, has said Nijjar was warned by Canadian intelligence officials about being targeted for assassination by “mercenaries.” Nijjar had recently been meeting “once or twice a week” with Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers, including a day or two before the shooting, said his son Balraj Singh Nijjar. He said his father had received hundreds of threatening messages telling him to stop his advocacy for Sikh independence. The threats were always passed to authorities. “We weren’t worried about safety because we weren’t doing anything wrong," he said. “We were just using freedom of speech.” He said the family was relieved by Canada's actions. "From day 1 we kind of had this idea and knowledge that if anything would happen to him, the Indian government would be involved,” he said. “It was just a matter of time for when the truth would come out. It’s finally coming to the public eyes that the Indian government is involved in this.” On Monday, Trudeau told Parliament that Canadian security agencies were investigating “credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India" and Nijjar's killing. “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” he said. India’s foreign ministry dismissed the allegation as “absurd” and accused Canada of harboring “terrorists and extremists.” “Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said in a statement Tuesday. India has long demanded that Canada take action against the Sikh independence movement, which is banned in India. Canada has a Sikh population of more than 770,000, about 2% of its population. In March, Modi's government summoned the Canadian high commissioner in New Delhi, the top diplomat in the country, to complain about Sikh independence protests in Canada. In 2020, India’s foreign ministry also summoned the top diplomat over Trudeau's comments about an agricultural protest movement associated with the state of Punjab, where many Sikhs live. Critics accuse Modi’s Hindu nationalist government of seeking to suppress dissent using sedition laws and other legal weapons. Some critics of his administration have been arrested, creating what Modi’s opponents say is a culture of intimidation. Trudeau said Monday he brought up Nijjar’s slaying with Modi last week at the G20 meeting in New Delhi, and told him any Indian government involvement would be unacceptable and he asked for cooperation in the investigation. Modi, for his part, expressed “strong concerns” over Canada’s handling of the Sikh independence movement at that meeting, India’s statement said. While in New Delhi, Trudeau skipped a dinner hosted by the Indian president, and local media reports said he was snubbed by Modi when he got a quick “pull aside” instead of a bilateral meeting. The statement called on Canada to work with India on what New Delhi said is a threat to the Indian diaspora, and accused the Sikh movement of “promoting secessionism and inciting violence” against Indian diplomats. Earlier this year, Sikh protesters pulled down the Indian flag at India’s high commission in London and smashed the building’s window after India arrested a popular Sikh preacher. Protesters also smashed windows at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco and skirmished with consulate workers. The British government, meanwhile, said Tuesday there were no plans to reinvestigate the death of a U.K-based Sikh activist in the wake of Canada’s claim India might have been behind the slaying of Nijjar. Avtar Singh Khanda, who played a prominent role in protests for an independent Sikh homeland, died in June in the English city of Birmingham after falling ill. Supporters alleged be might have been poisoned, but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said police found nothing suspicious. The Trudeau government’s allegations are awkward for the U.K., which is a close ally of Canada in the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance that also includes the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, and is also seeking a free trade deal with India. “These are serious allegations. It is right that the Canadian authorities should be looking into them,” Blain said, adding it would be inappropriate to comment further while the investigation is underway.

A Chinese spokesperson on Thursday accused Canada of acting in a “condescending manner” following a testy exchange between President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that underscores the depths to which the bilateral relationship has fallen. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning’s comments came after Xi chastised Trudeau at the G-20 summit on Wednesday over media reports on an earlier meeting during which Trudeau expressed concern about Chinese interference in Canada’s internal affairs. The apparently spontaneous exchange with a translator present was captured on video. Mao denied China had ever interfered in the internal affairs of other nations and said Canada was responsible for the downturn in ties. “Canada should take concrete actions to create conditions for the improvement of China-Canada relations,” she said at a daily briefing. The conversation was “quite normal and should not be interpreted as President Xi criticizing or blaming anyone.” Mao added that there had been a clear lack of respect from the Canadian side. “China has no problem at all with having a candid dialogue with other countries,” she said. “But we hope such a candid dialogue will be based on equal treatment and mutual respect, rather than criticizing the other in a condescending manner.” In his comments to Trudeau, Xi said, “Everything we discussed has been leaked to the paper; that’s not appropriate.” “And that’s not ... the way the conversation was conducted, if there is sincerity on your part,” Xi said, at which point Trudeau interrupted and stepped toward Xi. “In Canada, we believe in free and open and frank dialogue and that is what we will continue to have,” Trudeau said. “We will continue to look to work constructively together, but there will be things we will disagree on.” “Let’s create the conditions first,” Xi responded. The two shook hands after the brief encounter. Mao said nothing Xi said should be interpreted as a threat. “As you can see from the video, I think it is quite normal for the two heads of state to have a brief conversation during the G-20 summit. The two sides were just stating their respective positions,” she said. Trudeau first spoke with Xi at the G-20 last Tuesday. A senior Canadian government official said the two spoke about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea and climate change, and that Trudeau also raised “our serious concerns around interference activities in Canada.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Asked later at a news conference about the confrontation, Trudeau said, “not every conversation is always going to be easy, but it’s extremely important that we continue to stand up for the things that are important for Canadians.” Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly also said she discussed Chinese interference with her Chinese counterpart at the G-20. Joly remarked last week that China is an increasingly disruptive global power and warned businesses against deepening their ties, saying there were “geopolitical risks.” China-Canada ties nosedived after China jailed two Canadians shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies and the daughter of the company’s founder, on a U.S. extradition request in December 2018. They were sent back to Canada last year, the same day Meng returned to China after reaching a deal with U.S. authorities in her case, leading many to label China’s action “hostage politics.” Canada has banned wireless carriers from installing Huawei equipment in its high-speed 5G networks, joining allies in shunning the company that has close links with the ruling Communist Party and its military wing, the People’s Liberation Army. China has described the charges against Huawei and Meng as a politically motivated attempt to hold back China’s economic and technological development. More recently, Canadian police charged a Hydro-Québec employee on Monday with espionage for allegedly sending trade secrets to China. Read more: Biden says he and Xi have a “responsibility” to show US, China can “manage differences” Earlier this month, Canadian public broadcaster CBC closed its China bureau after applications to base a new reporter in Beijing were met with what it called “monthslong silence from Chinese officials.” The apparently unscripted remarks from Xi marked a rare display of public candor from the usually highly composed veteran politician. Known as an ardent nationalist who has vowed to always put China’s interests first, Xi recently had himself granted a third five-year term as leader of the ruling Communist Party, while packing top bodies with loyalists. In one earlier such incident during a visit to Mexico in 2009 while serving as vice president, China told Chinese students that, “There are a few foreigners, with full bellies, who have nothing better to do than try to point fingers at our country.” “China does not export revolution, hunger or poverty. Nor does China cause you headaches. Just what else do you want?,” Xi said in remarks caught on camera. Also read: Out of Covid bubble, Xi faces dramatically changed world at G-20  

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his decision to call an election during the pandemic in first debate of the campaign for this month’s election. Trudeau is facing a tough re-election battle against his Conservative Party rival, Erin O’Toole. The vote is Sept. 20. “Why did you trigger an election in the middle of a fourth wave?” O’Toole asked Trudeau at the French-language debate in Montreal. Also read: Trudeau announces additional fund for medical research on COVID-19 Trudeau said he needs a mandate from voters. “Almost 80 percent of Canadians have done the right thing, they got vaccinated, twice in fact,” said Trudeau, noting Canada is having a fourth wave because 20 percent are unvaccinated. “And because of them we have to stop democracy from working? No,” Trudeau said. He criticized O’Toole for not requiring his candidates to be vaccinated. O’Toole said he believes the country can find reasonable accommodations for those who are unvaccinated, like rapid testing and social distancing. Four provinces including Quebec and Ontario, Canada’s largest, are bringing in vaccine passports that require citizens to be vaccinated to enter places like restaurants and gyms. Also read: Trudeau says Canada won't retaliate for US mask export ban Trudeau called the election last month seeking to win the majority of seats in Parliament but polls show that is unlikely and that he might even lose power to O’Toole and the Conservative party. Trudeau had wanted to capitalize on the fact that Canada is now one of the most fully vaccinated countries in the world, but the country is now in a fourth wave driven by the delta variant. Daniel Beland, a politics professor at McGill University in Montreal, said Trudeau held his ground. “His combative performance might help stop the bleeding for the Liberals or, at least, reassure his base that he still has fire in his belly,” Beland said. The 49-year-old Trudeau, the son of the late Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, became the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history when he was first elected with a majority of seats in Parliament in 2015. He reasserted liberalism in 2015 after almost 10 years of Conservative Party government in Canada, but scandals combined with high expectations damaged his brand. His father served as prime minister from 1968 to 1984 with a short interruption and remains one of the few Canadian politicians known in other countries.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Thursday to allot additional 1.1 billion Canadian dollars (about 782 million U.S. dollars) for national medical research against the COVID-19.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that the best way to resolve ongoing Indigenous blockades is dialogue with the protesters, as the country's cargo and passenger rail operators were forced to suspend all service Thursday amid the protests.

Ottawa, Oct 24 (Xinhua/UNB) -- Clear geographical and ideological divisions were starkly revealed in Canada following Monday's general election that left Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party shut out from representation in two western provinces and facing a resurgent nationalist faction in the eastern French-speaking province of Quebec.

Toronto,  OCT 21 (AP/UNB) — Canadians are electing a new Parliament on Monday after a tight election campaign that has raised the threat of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being knocked from power after one term.