King Charles III welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Sandringham on Monday, as the meeting took place amid controversy over recent remarks by US President Donald Trump suggesting to make Canada 51st state.
Trudeau, who traveled to London for an emergency defense summit on Ukraine over the weekend, shook hands with King Charles as they posed for photos at the monarch’s royal residence.
Prior to his consultation with the King, departing PM Trudeau indicated he would address matters significant to Canadians, including “standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation”.
As the Commonwealth nation’s head of state, the King faces pressure to explicitly support Canada against Trump’s declarations.
Jason Kenney, the former leader of the Canadian province of Alberta, stated on X that the King must follow the Canadian PM’s guidance, who “should ask [Charles] to underscore Canadian sovereignty”.
The conservative politician criticised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, stating he had “cravenly thrown Canada under the bus” by avoiding comment on Trump’s annexation threats during his recent White House visit.
“It was a shameful betrayal of a fellow realm which has made enormous sacrifices for the defence of Britain,” Kenney said, BBC reported.
Trump’s new import duties, targeting goods from China, Mexico and Canada, commence on Tuesday. The president aims to safeguard American manufacturing, employment and address trade imbalances.
Earlier on Sunday, via Truth Social, Trump had said that America subsidises Canada through product imports. He further claimed that without this financial flow, Canada “ceases to exist as a viable country”.
Trump has discussed using “economic force” to incorporate Canada as America’s 51st state. He clarified military force wasn’t considered – a reassurance absent from his statements about acquiring the Panama Canal and Greenland.
The response to Trump’s tariff threats and statements about Canadian sovereignty dominates discussions in Trudeau’s Liberal Party, as candidates compete for leadership following his January resignation announcement.
The King’s recent diplomatic engagements, including those related to Ukraine, have increased following Trump’s presidential return.
Charles also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Sandringham to reaffirm Britain’s support for Ukraine the previous day. The meetings came just days after Zelenskyy’s tense exchange with Trump at the White House on Friday.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has extended an invitation for Trump to make a state visit to the UK, an unusual gesture given that the former president already received the royal treatment from Queen Elizabeth II during his first term.
