Trump Isn't the President of Canada

United States President-elect Donald Trump has reiterated his apparent desire to make Canada a 51st American state, sharing a recent social media post about Canadian entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary's support of the idea.

- STEWART PREST

Trump was roundly mocked for his latest trolling of Canada, but his apparent fixation is dangerous at a time when the country's Liberal government, long weakened, is in disarray following the shock resignation of Chrystia Freeland as finance minister and deputy prime minister.

In fact, in her December resignation letter, Freeland placed the country's response to Trump at the heart of her critique of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Among the many broadsides delivered to her former boss, the fact that Canada is ill-prepared to face the dire new threat of Trump's second term was a recurring theme.

Trump wasted no time inserting himself into Canada's internal affairs, calling Freeland "toxic" and continuing his running gag of referring to Trudeau as the governor of an American state rather than the leader of a sovereign nation.

The attacks are becoming routine, with Trump suggesting in another post that Canadians would "save massively on taxes and military protection" as the 51st state.

Whoever becomes prime minister in the weeks or months to come will have to figure out how to deal with Trump—and the existential threat he poses to Canada—in a much more effective manner than the Liberals have under Trudeau.

Trump is flagrantly disrespecting Canadian independence and, along with it, Canadian identity. He's openly challenging the very idea of Canadian sovereignty. Canada must respond accordingly. It can be hard to fully understand the nature and the extent of threats posed by someone so willing to flout respected political and diplomatic conventions.

His annexation threats create a constant set of multifaceted challenges to Canada's economic prosperity, democratic norms and sovereignty.