King Charles III has bid Canada farewell after a brief but memorable visit that reinforced Canada’s strong stand against President Donald Trump’s threats. “As my wife and I leave Canada, we wanted to send our most heartfelt thanks to all those who turned out to offer their support on this, my first visit as Sovereign,” the British monarch said in a joint note with Queen Camilla posted on X. “It was the warmest of welcomes - and the fondest of returns to a land and a people we love.” As leader of the Commonwealth, the king is Canada’s head of state, and he made the whirlwind trip across the Atlantic to speak at the opening of the new Canadian parliament, a rarity for a monarch. His trip appeared aimed at reinforcing Canada’s independence amid Trump’s threats to make the United States’ North American neighbor the 51st U.S. state as well as his new tariffs on Canadian imports. The king alluded to those tensions in his speech, emphasizing Canada’s sovereignty in language widely viewed as a rebuke to Trump’s provocations. He signed off his message on X, “Until the next time, au revoir, Canada, et avec tous nos remerciements,” meaning “Goodbye, Canada, and with all our thanks.”
As my wife and I leave Canada, we wanted to send our most heartfelt thanks to all those who turned out to offer their support on this, my first visit as Sovereign.
It was the warmest of welcomes - and the fondest of returns to a land and a people we love.
