King Charles III said Canada is facing unprecedented challenges in a world that has 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 US President Donald Trump.
The king is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the Commonwealth of former colonies. Trump’s repeated suggestion that Canada become the 51st state prompted Prime Minister Mark Carney to invite Charles to give a speech from the throne outlining the Liberal government’s priorities for the new session of Parliament, says AP.
“We 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,” Charles said in French, one of Canada’s official languages.
He added that “many Canadians are feeling anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them.”
The king reaffirmed Canada’s sovereignty, saying the “True North is indeed strong and free.”
Trump seemed to respond to the king’s visit later Tuesday, writing that if Canada becomes the “cherished 51st State” it will not have to pay to join his future Golden Dome missile defense program.
“It 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!” Trump posted on social media.
It is rare for the monarch to deliver the speech from the throne in Canada. Charles’ 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.
The visit to Canada was Charles’ first as king and his 20th overall.
“Canada 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,” the monarch said.
While Canadians are largely indifferent to the monarchy, but Carney has been eager to show the differences between Canada and the United States.
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.
The king’s visit clearly underscores Canada’s sovereignty, Carney said.
Carney is eager to diversify trade, and the king said Canada can build new alliances. More than 75% of Canada’s exports go to the US, and Trump has threatened sweeping tariffs on Canadian products.
Charles is also the king of the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and others — 14 realms in total. He exercises no political power in any of them.