Canada: Is Not America’s Next State!

Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien didn’t mince words when asked about the idea of Canada joining the United States. His response? A resounding no! 

Supporting links

1.     Former Canada PM HITS Trump Where IT HURTS THE MOST [YouTube]

2.     U.S. will ‘suffer much more’: Chrétien on possible trade war [CTV Question Period]

3.     Jean Chrétien [Wikipedia] 

Contact That's Life, I Swear

• Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com
• Tweet us at @RedPhantom
• Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/
• If you like to leave a review for an episode, please submit on Apple Podcast or on my website
• Do you have topics of interest you'd like to hear for future podcasts? If so, please email us at: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/

Listen to podcast audios

• Apple https://apple.co/3MAFxhb
• Spotify https://spoti.fi/3xCzww4
• My Website: https://bit.ly/39CE9MB
  
  

Other

• Music and/or Sound Effects are courtesy of Pixabay
  
  

Thank you for following the That's Life I Swear podcast!!

Transcript

⏱️ 11 min read                      

Recently, a fiery declaration from one of Canada’s most iconic leaders was made. Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien didn’t mince words when asked about the idea of Canada joining the United States. His response? A resounding no – with a sharp reminder to Donald Trump to ‘give his head a shake!’ Chrétien’s blunt, unapologetic defense of Canadian sovereignty to Donald, expressed his reasons for calling Canada the ‘best country in the world,’ and why this conversation still resonates today. 

Welcome to That's Life, I Swear.  This podcast is about life's happenings in this world that conjure up such words as intriguing, frightening, life-changing, inspiring, and more. I'm Rick Barron, your host.  

That said, here's the rest of this story 

Prior to becoming the President for a second term, Donald Trump’s remarks that Canada should become the 51st state drew strong criticism and a patriotic outburst from a former Canadian prime minister who offered blunt advice to the incoming U.S. leader: “Give your head a shake!”

At first, I thought of writing an article that captured the spirit of the former premier of Canada, but it would not have done justice.

Jean Chretien turned 91 on Jan. 11, 2025. He felt compelled to give himself a birthday present. He told Donald J. Trump to piss off in the The Globe and Mail. Allow me to share his very blunt remarks to Mr. Trump, in his own words as written in the Globe and Mail. 

Let’s begin.

Today is my 91st birthday.

It’s an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. To look back on the life I’ve had the privilege to lead. And to reflect on how much this country we all love so much has grown and changed over the course of the nine decades I’ve been on this Earth.

This year, I’ve also decided to give myself a birthday present. I’m going to do something in this article that I don’t do very often anymore, and sound off on a big issue affecting the state of the nation and profoundly bothering me and so many other Canadians: The totally unacceptable insults and unprecedented threats to our very sovereignty from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

I have two very clear and simple messages.

To Donald Trump, from one old guy to another: Give your head a shake! What could make you think that Canadians would ever give up the best country in the world – and make no mistake, that is what we are – to join the United States?

I can tell you Canadians prize our independence. We love our country. We have built something here that is the envy of the world – when it comes to compassion, understanding, tolerance and finding a way for people of different backgrounds and faiths to live together in harmony.

We’ve also built a strong social safety net – especially with public health care – that we are very proud of. It’s not perfect, but it’s based on the principle that the most vulnerable among us should be protected.

This may not be the “American Way” or “the Trump Way.” But it is the reality I have witnessed and lived my whole long life.

If you think that threatening and insulting us is going to win us over, you really don’t know a thing about us. You don’t know that when it came to fighting in two world wars for freedom, we signed up – both times – years before your country did. We fought and we sacrificed well beyond our numbers.

We also had the guts to say no to your country when it tried to drag us into a completely unjustified and destabilizing war in Iraq.

We built a nation across the most rugged, challenging geography imaginable. And we did it against the odds.

We may look easy-going. Mild-mannered. But make no mistake, we have spine and toughness.

And that leads me to my second message, to all our leaders, federal and provincial, as well as those who are aspiring to lead our country: Start showing that spine and toughness. That’s what Canadians want to see – what they need to see. It’s called leadership. You need to lead. Canadians are ready to follow.

I know the spirit is there. Ever since Mr. Trump’s attacks, every political party is speaking out in favor of Canada. In fact, it is to my great satisfaction that even the Bloc Québécois is defending Canada.

But you don’t win a hockey game by only playing defense. We all know that even when we satisfy one demand, Mr. Trump will come back with another, bigger demand. That’s not diplomacy; it’s blackmail.

We need another approach – one that will break this cycle.

Mr. Trump has accomplished one thing: He has unified Canadians more than we have been ever before!All leaders across our country have united in resolve to defend Canadian interests.

When I came into office as prime minister, Canada faced a national unity crisis. The threat of Quebec separation was very real. We took action to deal with this existential threat in a manner that made Canadians, including Quebeckers, stronger, more united and even prouder of Canadian values.

Now there is another existential threat. And we once again need to reduce our vulnerability. That is the challenge for this generation of political leaders.

And you won’t accomplish it by using the same old approaches. Just like we did 30 years ago, we need a Plan B for 2025.

Yes, telling the Americans we are their best friends and closest trading partner is good. So is lobbying hard in Washington and the state capitals, pointing out that tariffs will hurt the American economy too. So are retaliatory tariffs – when you are attacked, you have to defend yourself.

But we also have to play offence. Let’s tell Mr. Trump that we too have border issues with the United States. Canada has tough gun control legislation, but illegal guns are pouring in from the U.S. We need to tell him that we expect the United States to act to reduce the number of guns crossing into Canada.

We also want to protect the Arctic. But the United States refuses to recognize the Northwest Passage, insisting that it is an international waterway, even though it flows through the Canadian Arctic as Canadian waters. We need the United States to recognize the Northwest Passage as being Canadian waters.

We also need to reduce Canada’s vulnerability in the first place. We need to be stronger. There are more trade barriers between provinces than between Canada and the United States. Let’s launch a national project to get rid of those barriers! And let’s strengthen the ties that bind this vast nation together through projects such as a real national energy grid.

We also have to understand that Mr. Trump isn’t just threatening us; he’s also targeting a growing list of other countries, as well as the European Union itself, and he is just getting started. Canada should quickly convene a meeting of the leaders of Denmark, Panama, Mexico, as well as with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to formulate a plan for fighting back these threats.

Every time that Mr. Trump opens his mouth, he creates new allies for all of us. So, let’s get organized! To fight back against a big, powerful bully, you need strength in numbers.

The whole point is not to wait in dread for Donald Trump’s next blow. It’s to build a country and an international community that can withstand those blows.

Canadians know me. They know I am an optimist. That I am practical. And that I always speak my mind. I made my share of mistakes over a long career, but I never for a moment doubted the decency of my fellow Canadians – or of my political opponents.

The current and future generations of political leaders should remember they are not each other’s enemies – they are opponents. Nobody ever loved the cut-and-thrust of politics more than me, but I always understood that each of us was trying to make a positive contribution to make our community or country a better place.

That spirit is more important now than ever, as we address this new challenge. Our leaders should keep that in mind.

I am 91 today and blessed with good health. I am ready at the ramparts to help defend the independence of our country as I have done all my life.

Vive le Canada! 

What can we learn from this story? What's the takeaway?

The idea of Trump wanting to bully Canada into becoming part of the United States is more of a hypothetical or a speculation rather than a confirmed policy or action. However, Donald and his administration should look over their shoulders. 

Why? Because China is watching with keen interest what Trump may attempt with Canada, and for that matter, Greenland and Panama. It would be a greenlight for China to move forward to take Taiwan. Why not. If Trump thinks it’s ok, who his he to tell China not to invade. 

Be careful what you wish for, Donald.

Well, there you go, my friends; that's life, I swear

For further information regarding the material covered in this episode, I invite you to visit my website, which you can find on Apple Podcasts for show notes and the episode transcript.

As always, I thank you for the privilege of you listening and your interest. 

Be sure to subscribe here or wherever you get your podcast, so you don't miss an episode. 

And we’ll see you soon.