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As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters continue to look to Canada to become the 51st state, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Canada says he worries Canadians may feel that the Americans don’t respect them.
David Cohen told CBC’s The House in 2022 that Canadians felt “betrayed” because “they do not believe that their affection and respect for the United States has been reciprocated by the United States.”
In a follow-up interview on Tuesday with The HouseCohen asked if Canadians feel slighted again as Trump continues to joke about Canada joining the US
“I think it’s fair to say I’m concerned,” Cohen told CBC anchor Catherine Cullen. the house, in an interview broadcast on Saturday.
“A lot of my message to Canadians over the last three years was that you’re suffering from a bit of an inferiority complex that you don’t deserve.”
Cohen, who will leave his post in Ottawa early next year, also said that “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 a 51st state is a terrible thing.”
Over the past two weeks, Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada should become a state of the United States, at times citing the trade imbalance between the two countries. He has also referred to the prime minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau” several times.
Top Canadian officials, including Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who attended a dinner in Florida with the president-elect, have suggested that Trump is just trolling and he does not seriously suggest that Canada become an American state.
Cohen noted that “Canadians had a pretty good retort, that maybe it would be better if the United States became Canada’s 11th province … You can have a joke and not necessarily be disrespectful.”
He said the relationship between Canada and the United States runs “much deeper” than the president and prime minister and extends to Congress, the business community and state legislatures.
“And I feel nothing but the continued respect, appreciation and admiration of Canada from all of these sources,” Cohen said.
During a news conference Monday, LeBlanc discussed his dinner with the president-elect in Florida and said he considered Trump’s comments about Canada becoming the 51st state a “joke.”
“He’s gone on to say some of these things on social media,” LeBlanc said. “Again, it’s not our government’s job to respond to everything Trump posts.”
LeBlanc said it will be meeting Trump’s border czarTom Homan, after Christmas to discuss Canada’s proposed $1.3 billion plan to secure the Canada-US border.
“I’m sure we have a cordial and collaborative discussion with the incoming Trump administration, but we have a lot of work to do,” LeBlanc said.
