Trudeau says Trump threat to annex Canada 'is a real thing', NATO countries discussed deploying troops to Greenland

Everywhere in the world, from Canada to Denmark and from Panama to the Middle East, Donald Trump's threats have caused global anxiety.

Yiannis Damellos /Sources: BBC/The Telegraph

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just told a group of business leaders he believes President Donald Trump might be serious about annexing his country. Trudeau suggested Trump has floated the idea of taking over Canada and making it the "51st state" because he wants to access the country's critical minerals. Many Canadians see the rift between the two neighbors beyond repair while a recent Ipsos poll shows that the majority of Canadians (80%) oppose their country becoming part of the US, and would never vote 'yes' in any referendum on the issue. 

At the same time, Nato countries discussed deploying troops to Greenland in response to Trump threatening to use the US military to seize the Danish island. Mr Trump’s remarks have prompted divisions among European nations over how to react without causing a transatlantic crisis. Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor Europe’s most vocal critic of Mr. Trump over Greenland, declared that “borders must not be moved by force” as an international principle, addressing his words in English “to whom it may concern”. And Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, despite urging allies not to respond to the US president to avoid exacerbating the current tensions, has embarked on a European tour to privately secure the backing of EU member states and Nato allies, including a stop at Downing Street for talks with Sir Keir Starmer.

Trudeau's comments were made behind closed doors at a Canada-US Economic Summit in Toronto but were captured in part by a microphone and were reported on by several Canadian media outlets. "Mr Trump said Trudeau has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing." The summit was attended by more than 100 business leaders and public policy experts and was hosted by the Canadian government's newly created advisory council on Canada-US relations. Trudeau's comments come after Trump threatened Canada with a 25% tariff on all its exports to the US, except energy exports which would be taxed at a lower rate of 10%. The tariffs were to be imposed earlier this week, but Trump granted Canada - as well as Mexico, who had been threatened with similar tariffs - a last-minute reprieve for 30 days in exchange for more efforts to bolster security at their shared borders.

Trump first mentioned the idea of absorbing Canada at a dinner with Trudeau in December, shortly after he first threatened the tariffs. At the time, Canadian officials dismissed it as a joke. But he suggested repeatedly, both in posts on his social media platform Truth Social and in remarks to reporters, that Canada could become a US state instead to avoid the tariffs. He has also referred to the country's prime minister as "Governor Trudeau". "What I'd like to see - Canada become our 51st state," Trump said earlier this week at the Oval Office when asked about what concessions Canada could offer.

But Trudeau's comments on Friday suggest a shift in how Canada might be perceiving Trump's remarks, meaning that the political establishment now sees them as a real threat. Yet, sn Ipsos poll conducted in January shows that the majority of Canadians (80%) oppose their country becoming part of the US, and would never vote 'yes' in any referendum on the issue. It is worth mentioning that such a move would also require the approval of both chambers of Congress in the US, and would need a supermajority of 60 votes to get through the Senate. 

Trump's threats have caused nationwide anxiety in the True North. Around three-quarters of Canadian exports are sold to the US, and steep tariffs on those goods could deeply hurt Canada's economy and risk thousands of job losses. Some provincial politicians have been launching "buy local" campaigns to encourage Canadians to spend their money at home instead of in the US and many Canadians have canceled trips south of the border in protest.

At Friday's summit, Trudeau said Canada was facing the possibility of "a more challenging, long-term political situation with the United States", and must find ways to strengthen its own economy and trade ties in the years ahead.

A schism in NATO

Trump's rants about Greenland forced many Nato countries to discuss deploying troops to the Danish island. Diplomatic sources told The Telegraph, that Germany was among dozens of European allies understood to have held informal talks over “what Nato troops would do” if the US president followed through on his threats. Questions were even raised over whether Article 5, the Western military alliance’s mutual defense clause, could be invoked in the event of an American invasion of a fellow Nato member state. Naturally, Berlin’s involvement in the clandestine discussions has attracted criticism from some of NATO’s most ardent backers of Ukraine given the refusal of Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, to consider a deployment of troops there. “Berlin doesn’t want to send troops to Ukraine because the situation is ‘too ambiguous’ but is openly flying kites about sending Nato troops to Greenland,” a Nato diplomat told The Telegraph. “It’s a moral compass without a needle.” 

Meanwhile, Robert Brieger, an Austrian general in charge of the EU’s military committee, said it would send a “strong signal” to deploy Brussels-led forces to Greenland. But Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, has urged allies not to respond to the US president to avoid exacerbating the current tensions. She has welcomed US security concerns over the Arctic and promised to boost Denmark’s military presence on Greenland, but insisted the island is not for sale. Also, Ms Frederiksen has embarked on a European tour to privately secure the backing of EU member states and Nato allies, including a stop at Downing Street for talks with Sir Keir Starmer. Denmark has unveiled plans to spend $1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) on two new inspection ships, two drones, and two dog sled patrols to boost security on the island. It has also promised to upgrade an airfield to allow F-35 fighter jets to operate from Greenland.

France and Germany have openly touted sending European troops to join the Americans already stationed there, but some European leaders have suggested staging a more robust “fight back” against the US president’s overtures. In discussions inside NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, member states have pondered whether Article 5, which states that a military attack on one ally is considered an attack on all, could be invoked if Mr Trump does sanction an invasion of Greenland. However, the option was quickly ruled out because it would require the unanimous backing of NATO’s 32 member states, including the US. The mutual defense has only been triggered once in the alliance’s history, after the 9/11 attacks on America. Article 4, which allows a national capital to launch emergency consultations if its “territorial integrity, political independence or security” is threatened, was seen as a more suitable measure. It is often considered in the context of Turkey and Greece as the best possible mechanism to address tensions between allies.

Nato allies discussed sending troops to Greenland after Trump's threats

Talks over using NATO’s treaties to address Mr Trump’s Greenland comments have been kept out of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s main political decision-making body, on which the US holds a seat. A third option being debated is using Nato troops to plug security gaps in the Arctic to address the US president’s concerns. Melting ice caps in the area are creating new shipping routes and opening up access to rare earth materials, which both Russia and China are seeking to control. Mr Trump is concerned because the Pituffik Space Base in north-west Greenland is used by the US for crucial missile warning systems, as well as satellite and space surveillance. Mark Rutte, NATO’s secretary-general, has attempted to defuse Mr Trump’s threats by offering to let the alliance ramp up its presence in the Arctic. “It’s absolutely clear that Trump is right when it comes to the high north, that we have to do more,” he said earlier this week.