Carney's straightforward response after Trump offers Golden Dome membership for free as the 51st state
Prime Minister Mark Carney offered a simple statement regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's US$61 billion (CAD$83 billion) offer for Canada to join his vaunted Golden Dome defence system or gain membership for free by becoming the 51st state.
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'Never negotiate in public,' he said as he whisked past reporters parked outside a Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday.
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Nova Scotia MP Darren Fisher said Trump's 'got to give that stuff up,' adding it's 'never going to happen.'
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Winnipeg MP Doug Eyolfson called it 'outrageous.'
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'A bribe is a bribe. That's just not acceptable. We're not going to bribe Canadians into becoming a 51st state. We're Canadians. This is Canada, and we're a sovereign nation and becoming part of the States is not an option.'
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The Prime Minister's office didn't say whether it received the purported $61-billion offer when contacted by National Post, but said discussions on NORAD and the Golden Dome have been part of 'wide-ranging and constructive discussions' Carney and his ministers have had with U.S. counterparts.
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But while acting on his citizen-driven mandate to establish a new relationship with the U.S., his office said, 'the Prime Minister has been clear at every opportunity, including in his conversations with President Trump, that Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and it will remain one.'
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National Defence Minister David McGuinty said when it came to Trump's stated price tag of $61 billion, he said he was not 'in a position to evaluate the numbers.'
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'I learnt a long time ago, when it comes to managing relationships with other countries, you can only control what you can control, and what we can control here now is decisions around strengthening our sovereignty and our security,' he said prior to the caucus meeting.
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He said more would be revealed when the Liberal government tables its budget in the fall.
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McGuinty also pointed to Canada's modernization initiative for NORAD and Carney's recent announcement of putting $6 billion towards bolstering early warning detection over the Arctic.
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'We're going to continue to do what's right for Canadians, and that includes making sure that we are secure, that we are sovereign.'
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He said not only is Canada focused on its relationship with the U.S., when it comes to security, but also the European Union.
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Within five hours of Canada's sovereignty being made abundantly clear by King Charles III in a historic and symbolic speech from the throne in the nation's capital, he posted on Truth Social that Canada would have to pay if it chose to remain 'a separate but unequal, Nation.'
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