Chrystia Freeland dramatically resigned from Justin Trudeau’s government last year
Canada Eyeing NATO Ally’s Nukes To Deter Trump ‘Threat’: Chrystia Freeland
British nuclear weapons can protect Canada against Trump, says Chrystia Freeland
Chrystia Freeland says Canada should build closer security partnerships with Nato allies as US president is ‘threatening sovereignty’
Canada should seek closer ties with Britain because its nuclear weapons can help protect the country against Donald Trump, a Liberal party leader running to replace Justin Trudeau has said.
Why It Matters
Trump has repeatedly said that the United States should annex Canada and absorb the country as the 51st state. Officials have raised alarm bells about the president’s threats, saying they undermine Canada’s sovereignty. Trudeau has rejected the possibility of his country becoming part of the U.S.
Chrystia Freeland, the former deputy prime minister under Mr Trudeau, said that US president is “clearly threatening our sovereignty” with his campaign to absorb Canada as the 51st state of America.
What To Know
Chrystia Freeland, former deputy prime minister under Trudeau, warned that Trump poses a direct “threat” to Canada’s sovereignty by saying that the country could potentially become the 51st U.S. state.
Trump has said that Canada is “not viable as a country” without U.S. trade.
In order to “guarantee our security”, Freeland proposed forming stronger defense ties with France and Britain, as their nuclear arsenals could aid Canada “at a time when the United States can pose a threat.”
“I would be working urgently with those partners to build a closer security relationship… in a time when the United States can be a threat,” said the ex-foreign minister and finance minister at the final Liberal leadership debate last week.
Trump “wants to turn Canada into the 51st state, and it’s no joke,” Freeland said.
The Liberal party has overtaken the Conservatives in the polls for the first time since 2021, surging on a backlash to Mr Trump and his mockery of Mr Trudeau as merely “Governor” of Canada.
“That is why he is supporting [Russian President] Vladimir Putin’s criminal attempt to redraw Ukraine’s borders,” she added. “Trump wants to redraw our borders, too.”
Freeland is running second in the race to Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England. She draws 31 per cent of voters against Mr Carney’s 43 per cent, a poll for Mainstreet Research found last week. Results are due on March 9.
The suggestion that Canada should seek to avail itself of Britain’s nuclear umbrella against the United States was criticised by Freeland’s political opponents.
“I think that that was an insane thing to say,” said Danielle Smith, the conservative premier of Alberta, Canada’s wealthiest province.
“As if somehow we’re going to have a nuclear threat from the United States or counter some kind of nuclear threat,” Smith told The Telegraph.
“The US is our friend and allied security partner,” she said, citing the North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) alliance, in which Canada and the United States share air defence of the continent.
“During 9/11 it was a Canadian commander that was giving direction on North American airspace on where those planes needed to land [he redirected US air traffic to Canadian bases]. That’s how integrated we are on the security front.”
“So anyone suggesting otherwise is just being silly.”
Britain’s Trident nuclear submarines rely on missiles and warhead designs from the United States, with which the UK shares nuclear materials, research and training under the 1958 US-UK mutual defence agreement.
In December, Freeland dramatically resigned from Trudeau’s government, revealing in an open letter that she had resisted “costly political gimmicks” as finance minister in order to face the challenge of looming US tariffs.
With his popularity at record lows, Trudeau had offered Canadians a $250 cash rebate and implemented a two-month holiday on General Sales Tax.
Chrystia Freeland vs. USSR. 1989
Canada’s Liberal Party has seen a recent resurgence in the polls, surpassing the Conservatives for the first time since 2021. Party members are set to elect a new leader on March 9, after which Trudeau is expected to step down.
Britain’s King Charles III, the head of state of Canada, which is a Commonwealth nation, welcomed Trudeau on Monday for talks, although it wasn’t clear if the pair discussed Trump’s annexation comments.
Trump calls Freeland a ‘whack’
Freeland’s resignation prompted Trudeau to resign himself, setting the stage for a fresh candidate to run in the general election due to be held before October this year.
A former Financial Times journalist and Moscow correspondent, Freeland led the negotiations over the Canada-Mexico-US trade agreement during Mr Trump’s first term. She has positioned herself as the best candidate to confront US tariffs, which are due to snap into place tomorrow at 25 per cent on a broad swath of Canadian exports.
“I know president Trump. I fought for Canada in the first Trump administration, and I got a good deal for Canada,” she told the Canadian Press at a rally on Saturday in the city of Edmonton, Alberta.
In an interview with the Spectator last week, Trump referred to Freeland as a “whack”.
“She’s absolutely terrible for the country. She’s incompetent in many respects and can only cause ill will for Canada,” the president said. On X, Freeland replied: “There’s a reason Trump called me a ‘whack.’ There’s a reason he complained about my negotiating skills. There’s a reason Putin kicked me out of Russia, too.
“I don’t back down — and Trump and Putin know it.”
Seen as a Trudeau loyalist after having served under him in various cabinet positions since 2015, Freeland has attempted to distance herself from the Left-wing “identity” politics of the prime minister.
“I am an old-school Liberal,” she told TV host Bill Maher over the weekend. “And Liberals in Canada win when we are focused on people and on what they need in their lives.”
“We lose when people think that we are focused on virtue signalling and identity politics.”
On Monday, Emmanuel Macron said France would consider extending the umbrella of its nuclear forces across Europe. Friedrich Merz, Germany’s new Chancellor, has called for Britain and France to “share” their arsenals with his nation.
Sir Keir Starmer last week refused to be drawn on Trump’s 51st state proposals, shutting down the question at a press conference in the White House.
“I think you are trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t exist,” the Prime Minister said, adding that Canada “wasn’t discussed” in his one-to-one talks with the president.
What People Are Saying
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X, formerly Twitter, in January: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States. Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.”
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said in a post on X: “Canada will never be the 51st state. Period. We are a great and independent country.”
What Happens Next
Canada is hoping that the head of state, Britain’s King Charles III, will condemn Trump’s statements on annexing the nation. Trudeau met with the king on Monday at the monarch’s royal residence Sandringham, Norfolk, east England.
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