Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted a final message to Canadian citizens, a bit of a pep talk amid Donald Trump‘s threats of ever-more punitive tariffs and talk of the country becoming the U.S.’s 51st state.
Trudeau’s successor, Mark Carney, is due to be sworn in on Friday.
“I’m so proud of Canadians,” Trudeau said. “I’m proud to have served a country full of people who stand up for what’s right, rise to every occasion and always have each other’s backs when it matters most. This may be my last day here in this office, but I will always be boldly and unapologetically Canadian. My only ask is that no matter what the world throws at us, you will always be the same.”
Trump continued to talk of Canada becoming the 51st state during an Oval Office visit of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. “We don’t need anything they have,” Trump said of the neighbor to the north, which has been one of the United States’ closest allies.
Trudeau announced in January that he was stepping down after nearly 10 years. Although it has looked as if the Liberal Party would get trounced in the next elections, Trump’s tariffs and calls for annexation have changed the dynamics. Polls have shown a tightening race with his expected challenger Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader whose rhetoric has drawn comparisons to Trump.
