The head of Canada’s Alberta province said King Charles should challenge President Donald Trump on his oft-repeated proposal to make Canada America’s 51st state.
“I swear an oath to the King, our cabinet secrecy is affirmed by our oath to the King, and we’ve got him on our bank notes,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told the Telegraph on Thursday. “So I think he should have something to say about [Trump’s campaign to absorb Canada] because it is, I think, a direct confrontation to British sovereignty.”
“I look forward to seeing what kind of reaction he might have,” Smith added.
Since beginning his second term, Trump has repeatedly maintained that the U.S. could absorb Canada into the union and has referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor.”
The King has faced mounting pressure to rebuff Trump.
On March 1, Jason Kenney, the former Alberta premier, urged Trudeau to request that the King, who is Canada’s head of state, stress the country’s sovereignty during an upcoming meeting.
“It is clear that President Trump respects the Crown, and IMO the Government of Canada should ask the Head of State to underscore Canadian sovereignty,” Kenney wrote on X.
“Nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation,” Trudeau said on Sunday in advance of his U.K. visit.
On Monday, Trudeau met with King Charles at Sandringham House. According to royal sources, the meeting ended with the King planning an overseas tour of Canada in 2026. But the King allegedly claimed it would not be appropriate for him to respond to Trump directly.
Trudeau posted an image of himself with the King on X after the meeting, noting the two had spoken about “Canada’s sovereign and independent future.”
In a subtle show of support, on Tuesday King Charles wore Canadian decorations as he visited British Royal Navy warships at sea.
While Trump’s proposed absorption of the U.S.’s northern neighbor is hypothetical, the 25 percent tariffs he imposed on Canadian goods on Wednesday are not.
President Trump trolled Trudeau on TruthSocial on Thursday shortly after the two spoke on the phone amid the ongoing trade war.
Trump later wrote: “For anyone who is interested, I also told Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada that he largely caused the problems we have with them because of his Weak Border Policies, which allowed tremendous amounts of Fentanyl, and Illegal Aliens, to pour into the United States.”
