Joley says Canadian-UK friendship is “in our DNA” after British Prime Minister’s White House comments
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said she did not believe the relationship between Canada and the UK changed after the comments made by the British Prime Minister during his visit to the White House.
“No country on Earth can split Canada and the UK,” Joley said at a press conference in Vancouver on Friday.
“In our DNA, close to the UK,” she said, noting that she was in contact with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell.
“At the same time, we need to work together to address the unpredictability that emerges in the White House.”
As U.S. President Donald Trump continues to undermine Canada’s sovereignty, Canada has been working to strengthen relations with historic allies, such as the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has repeatedly threatened Canada to become the “51st state” and called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the “governor.”
Joley’s comment comes the day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer insists that the United States and Britain are in good shape.
During a press conference during Starmer’s White House visit on Thursday, a reporter asked Prime Minister King Charles to express concern about Trump’s recent annexation of Canada.
But the Prime Minister avoided the issue, accusing reporters of “trying to find a gap that does not exist between us.”
Starmer proposed the king’s invitation to visit the Royal Manor and castle of Balmoral in Scotland.
“We are the closest country and we had a good discussion today. But we didn’t talk about Canada,” Steamer said, saying when the president interrupted him, “It’s enough.”
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Friday that countries are figuring out what U.S. leadership means to change the world. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer underscores Donald Trump’s 51st state threat to Canada during a joint press conference on Thursday.
Trudeau’s former foreign policy adviser Roland Paris said Starmer’s answer to the Canadian question was unfortunate.
“Mr. Stamer could have easily said that like Canada is a sovereign state,” Paris said. “Instead, he just took the opportunity to say that his position is no different from that of Donald Trump.”
Paris said Stamer didn’t seem to want to “destroy emotions” and it was an active discussion with the president, but the result was that the British Prime Minister “throw Canada under the bus.”
“Trump created an environment of uncertainty that countries scrambled to secure their own interests,” Paris said. “They didn’t really pay attention to the interests of other countries.”
During an event with the Greater Vancouver Trade Commission earlier Friday, Joley noted that she had warned her European counterparts about potential threats from Trump and told them that Canada is “a canary in the coal mine.”
After Trump threatened EU tariffs, Joley said she “written to everyone and I said, ‘I’ll tell you.’
