As US President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters continue to attack Canada over becoming the 51st state, the outgoing US ambassador to Canada says he fears Canadians will feel disrespected by Americans.
David Cohen told CBC the house In 2022 That Canadians felt “betrayed” because they “did not believe that their affection and respect for the United States had been reciprocated by the United States.”
In a follow-up interview on Tuesday with the houseCohen was asked if Canadians feel disrespected again as Trump continues to joke about Canada joining the United States
“I think it’s fair to say I’m concerned about that,” Cohen told CBC host Kathryn Cullen. the house, In an interview broadcast on Saturday.
“A lot of my message to Canadians over the last three years has been that you have a little bit of an inferiority complex that you don’t deserve.”
Cohen, who will leave his position in Ottawa early next year, said that “in order for there to be a healthy relationship, there must be mutual respect” between the two countries.
The outgoing ambassador also added: “I don’t know that being the 51st country is terrible.”
Over the past two weeks, Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada become a US state, sometimes citing the trade imbalance between the two countries. He has also referred to the Prime Minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau” several times.
Senior Canadian officials did so, including Finance Minister Dominique LeBlanc, who attended a dinner in Florida with the president-elect. Suggest that Trump is just trolling It does not seriously suggest that Canada become an American country.
“Canadians have a very good response, which is that maybe it would be better for the United States to become Canada’s 11th province… You can have a joke and not necessarily a disrespect,” Cohen noted.
He said the relationship between Canada and the United States is “much deeper” than the relationship between the president and the prime minister and extends to Congress, the business community and state legislatures.
“And I hear nothing but continued respect, appreciation and admiration for Canada from all those sources,” Cohen said.
During a news conference Monday, LeBlanc discussed the dinner he had with the president-elect in Florida and said he viewed Trump’s comments about Canada becoming the 51st state as “delightful banter.”
“He kept saying some of these things on social media,” LeBlanc said. He added: “Once again, our government’s job is not to respond to everything Trump publishes.”
LeBlanc said it would be Caesar meets Trump at the borderTom Homan, after Christmas to discuss Canada’s proposed $1.3 billion plan to secure the Canada-US border.
“I am confident that we are having a friendly and cooperative discussion with the incoming Trump administration, but we have a lot of work to do,” Blanc said.
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