As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his allies continue to troll Canada over becoming its 51st state, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Canada says Canadians don’t respect Americans He said he was concerned that people would feel that way.
David Cohen told CBC. the house In 2022, Canadians said they felt “betrayed” because they “believe their love and respect for the United States is not reciprocated by the United States.”
In a follow-up interview Tuesday, the houseCohen was asked if President Trump’s continued jokes about Canada’s membership in the United States made Canadians feel disrespected again.
“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say I’m concerned about that,” Cohen told CBC host Katherine Cullen. the house, In an interview broadcast on Saturday.
“A lot of the message I’ve been giving Canadians over the last three years has been that you’re suffering from a feeling of unworthiness and inferiority.”
Cohen, who plans to leave his post in Ottawa early next year, also said that “in order to have a healthy relationship, there has to be mutual respect” between the two countries.
The outgoing ambassador also added, “I don’t know that being the 51st state is a scary thing.”
Over the past two weeks, President Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada should become a U.S. state, sometimes citing the trade imbalance between the two countries. He has repeatedly referred to the prime minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau.”
Canadian officials, including Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who attended a Florida dinner with the president-elect, say Trump is just trolling and is serious about Canada becoming an American nation. He suggested that this was not the case.
“Canadians countered that pretty well,” Cohen said. “Maybe it would be better if the U.S. became Canada’s 11th province…There’s some joking, but not necessarily a lack of respect.” ” he pointed out.
He said the relationship between Canada and the United States goes “much deeper” than the president and prime minister, extending to parliament, the business community and state legislatures.
“And I hear nothing but continued respect, appreciation and admiration for Canada from all of these sources,” Cohen said.
At a news conference Monday, LeBlanc spoke about his dinner with the president-elect in Florida and said he considered Trump’s comments about Canada becoming the 51st state a “hilarious joke.”
“He keeps saying things like this on social media,” LeBlanc said. “Again, our government’s job is not to react to everything President Trump posts.”
LeBlanc said it would be. Meeting with President Trump’s border czarTom Homan discusses Canada’s proposed $1.3 billion plan to secure the Canada-U.S. border after Christmas.
“I am confident that we will be able to have good faith and cooperative discussions with the incoming Trump administration, but there is much work to be done,” Brann said.
