Does Mr Trump really want to annex Canada?

President-elect Donald Trump's repeated suggestions to annex Canada into the United States, along with his plans to reclaim the Panama Canal and buy Greenland, have sparked widespread debate and concern. His proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, coupled with his rhetoric, raise questions about the future of US-Canada relations and the potential impact on both countries.

- ATANU BISWAS

"AGA," standing for "Make America Great Again," is one of the new words Merriam-Webster added this October. And it seems that the MAGA star, President-elect Donald Trump, wants American territorial expansion to proceed towards "greatness." Mr Trump declared his plans to reclaim the Panama Canal, buy Greenland from Denmark, and make Canada the 51st state of the US just weeks before taking office for a second term.

Trump said he may even use military force to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal and "economic force" to annex Canada. He said, "You get rid of that artificially drawn line (US-Canada border), and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security." Many international borders, however, are artificially drawn lines.

Why is Trump showing a different approach for Canada? Does he really want to annex Canada into American territory? In fact, Trump is unhappy with the US spending billions of dollars protecting Canada and also with the around $40 billion American trade deficit in bilateral trade with Canada due to imports of Canadian cars, lumber, and dairy products. Also, Trump is unhappy with Mexico and Canada too for illegal immigrants intruding into the US from Mexico, as "they come through Canada, too," Trump said.

After becoming President-elect, and clearly in violation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Trump threatened to levy a 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico. Trump's concern for treaties is certainly well-known by the fates of the Paris Climate Accord and the Iran Nuclear Treaty. Now, the tariffs would clearly be damaging to Canada's economy, which relies heavily on its trade with the US. Trump knows that well.