Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rebuffed President Donald Trump’s suggestion on Tuesday that Canada would ever join the United States as the 51st state.
“As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” Carney said during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office with his American counterpart.
“Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign, last several months, it’s not for sale, won’t be for sale, ever. But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together,” the prime minister added.
Carney was responding to a reporter’s question to the president on his past comments about America’s neighbor to the north. Trump said he still believed that Canada should become part of the U.S., but that “it takes two to tango.”
“I believe it would be a massive tax cut for the Canadian citizens,” Trump said of Canadians becoming U.S. citizens. “You get free military, you get tremendous medical cares and other things. There would be a lot of advantages, but it would be, it would be a massive tax cut.”
Carney, whose Liberal Party prevailed in a close parliamentary election last month, is visiting Washington to address the current state of the U.S.-Canada relationship and Trump’s tariff pressure. In campaigning, Carney promised to “stand up” to the president.
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