{"id":138043,"date":"2025-05-28T07:26:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T07:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/138043\/"},"modified":"2025-05-28T07:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T07:26:11","slug":"king-charles-iii-says-canada-faces-unprecedented-dangers-as-trump-threatens-annexation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/138043\/","title":{"rendered":"King Charles III says Canada faces unprecedented dangers as Trump threatens annexation"},"content":{"rendered":"

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) \u2014 King Charles III<\/a> said Canada is facing unprecedented challenges in a world that\u2019s never been more dangerous as he opened the Canadian Parliament on Tuesday with a speech widely viewed as a show of support in the face of annexation threats by U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The king is the head of state in Canada<\/a>, which is a member of the Commonwealth of former colonies. Trump\u2019s repeated suggestion that Canada become the 51st state<\/a> prompted Prime Minister Mark Carney to invite Charles to give a speech from the throne outlining the Liberal government\u2019s priorities for the new session of Parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must face reality: since the Second World War, our world has never been more dangerous and unstable. Canada is facing challenges that, in our lifetimes, are unprecedented,\u201d Charles said in French, one of Canada\u2019s official languages.<\/p>\n

He added that \u201cmany Canadians are feeling anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The king reaffirmed Canada\u2019s sovereignty, saying the \u201cTrue North is indeed strong and free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump seemed to respond to the king\u2019s visit later Tuesday, writing that if Canada becomes the \u201ccherished 51st State\u201d it won\u2019t have to pay to join his future Golden Dome missile defense program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"King<\/p>\n

King Charles delivers the speech from the throne in the Senate in Ottawa, Canada, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

King Charles delivers the speech from the throne in the Senate in Ottawa, Canada, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer!,\u201d Trump posted on social media. <\/p>\n

A rare moment<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare for the monarch to deliver the speech from the throne in Canada. Charles\u2019 mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, did it twice. The king noted that it had been nearly 70 years since his mother first opened Parliament.<\/p>\n

The visit to Canada was Charles\u2019 first as king and his 20th overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada has dramatically changed: repatriating its constitution, achieving full independence and witnessing immense growth. Canada has embraced its British, French and Indigenous roots and become a bold, ambitious, innovative country that is bilingual, truly multicultural,\u201d the monarch said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Canada<\/p>\n

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and King Charles talk ahead of the King delivering speech from the throne in the Senate in Ottawa, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and King Charles talk ahead of the King delivering speech from the throne in the Senate in Ottawa, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The king said that among the priorities for the government is protection of the French language and Quebec culture, which are at the heart of Canadian identity.<\/p>\n

He said when his mother opened a new session of Canadian Parliament in 1957, World War II remained a fresh, painful memory and the Cold War was intensifying.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreedom and democracy were under threat,\u201d he said. \u201cToday, Canada faces another critical moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The speech isn\u2019t written by the king or his U.K. advisers, as Charles serves as a nonpartisan head of state. He read what was put before him by Canada\u2019s government, but can make some remarks of his own.<\/p>\n

Underscoring Canada\u2019s sovereignty<\/p>\n

Canadians are largely indifferent to the monarchy, but Carney has been eager to show the differences between Canada and the United States.<\/p>\n

After the United States gained independence from Britain, Canada remained a colony until 1867, and afterward continued as a constitutional monarchy with a British-style parliamentary system.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"King<\/p>\n

King Charles delivers the speech from the throne in the Senate in Ottawa, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

King Charles delivers the speech from the throne in the Senate in Ottawa, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The king\u2019s visit clearly underscores Canada\u2019s sovereignty, Carney said.<\/p>\n

Carney won the job of prime minister by promising to confront the increased aggression shown by Trump and made his first official trip to London and Paris, the capital cities of Canada\u2019s two founding nations.<\/p>\n

Carney is eager to diversify trade, and the king said Canada can build new alliances. More than 75% of Canada\u2019s exports go to the U.S., and Trump has threatened sweeping tariffs on Canadian products. <\/p>\n

Tense relationship with the U.S.<\/p>\n

Just a few days ago the new U.S. ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, said that sending messages to the U.S. isn\u2019t necessary. He said Canadians should move on from the 51st state talk, telling the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that if there\u2019s a message to be sent, there are easier ways \u2014 such as calling him or Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cMove on. If the Canadians want to keep talking about it \u2014 that\u2019s their business. I\u2019m not talking about it; Donald Trump is not talking about it,\u201d he said then. <\/p>\n

The king said Canada must protect Quebec\u2019s dairy supply management industry, which Trump has attacked in trade talks.<\/p>\n

And he said the Canadian government will protect the country\u2019s sovereignty by reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces. Trump has asserted that Canada doesn\u2019t spend enough on its military.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"King<\/p>\n

King Charles inspects an honor guard as he arrives in front of the Senate building in Ottawa, Canada, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Christinne Muschi\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

King Charles inspects an honor guard as he arrives in front of the Senate building in Ottawa, Canada, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Christinne Muschi\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The king also said Canada would look to the European Union to purchase military equipment by joining the \u201cREARM Europe\u201d plan \u2014 a major defense procurement project to ramp up arms production in Europe.<\/p>\n

The speech made no mention of buying from the U.S.<\/p>\n

Pomp and ceremony<\/p>\n

A horse-drawn carriage took Charles and Queen Camilla to the Senate of Canada Building for the speech. It was accompanied by 28 horses. After inspecting a 100-person honor guard and receiving a 21-gun salute, the king entered the building as the crowd cheered.<\/p>\n

Former Canadian Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper were among those in attendance.<\/p>\n

The king returned to the U.K. after the speech and a visit to Canada\u2019s National War Memorial.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for coming,\u201d one voice called from the crowd as the royal couple moved toward their motorcade.<\/p>\n

Justin Vovk, a Canadian royal historian, said the king\u2019s visit reminded him of when Queen Elizabeth II opened the Parliament in Grenada, a member of the Commonwealth, in 1985. A U.S.-led force invaded the islands in October 1983 without consulting the British government following the killing of Grenada\u2019s Marxist prime minister, Maurice Bishop.<\/p>\n

Charles is also the king of the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and others \u2014 14 realms in total. He exercises no political power in any of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) \u2014 King Charles III said Canada is facing unprecedented challenges in a world that\u2019s never…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138044,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[7709,51,943,32955,7730,7731,32,77,4179,60202,6855,60206,1760,518,2129,60205,60204,285,6938,60203,1763,7710,519,7796,32956,15,10673,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-138043","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-british-royal-family","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-canada-government","12":"tag-charles","13":"tag-charles-iii","14":"tag-donald-trump","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-general-news","17":"tag-grenada","18":"tag-justin-trudeau","19":"tag-justin-vovk","20":"tag-king-charles","21":"tag-king-charles-iii","22":"tag-mark-carney","23":"tag-maurice-bishop","24":"tag-peter-hoekstra","25":"tag-politics","26":"tag-quebec","27":"tag-quebec-city","28":"tag-queen-elizabeth-ii","29":"tag-royal-families","30":"tag-royal-family","31":"tag-royalty","32":"tag-stephen-harper","33":"tag-united-kingdom","34":"tag-washington-news","35":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114584275784967774","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}