Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted a video of veteran journalist Tom Brokaw explaining Canada to Americans. It comes after several social media posts by President-elect Donald Trump referring to Trudeau as the governor of America’s 51st state.
Trudeau shared the video in a Dec. 26 post on the X platform, saying it had “Some information about Canada for Americans.”
The video, which first aired on NBC in 2010 at the time of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, starts with images of the Peace Arch monument located by the Canada-U.S. border separating Blaine, Washington, and Surrey, British Columbia, with Brokaw saying it commemorates a peace treaty ending the War of 1812 between the United States and the Great Britain.
“Remember, Canada was a British colony. That was a long time ago. But the encryption on the arch sums up the relationship: ‘May these gates never be closed,’” Brokaw says in the video.
The video emphasizes the close relations between the two nations, including the shared border, joint military operations, and Canada’s help to rescue American diplomats during the 1979 hostage crisis in Iran.
Brokaw notes in the video that the countries both attract immigrants searching for freedom and economic opportunity, and that Canada is one of the biggest trading partners of the United States.
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“The two-way trade at the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor alone equals all American exports to Japan,” he said.
The video also notes that Canada is the top supplier of oil to the United States, and that the top tourist destination for Canadians is the United States.
Trump has posted several jibes about Canada becoming the next U.S. state over the past month, after announcing that he will impose a blanket 25 percent tariff on all Canadian imports if the country doesn’t adequately address illegal immigration and drug flow through its border into the United States.
Shortly after the announcement, Trudeau made a visit to the president-elect’s home in Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 29.
During their meeting, Trump reportedly made the first comment about Canada becoming the 51st state. Cabinet Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who also attended the meeting, later told reporters that Trump was “teasing” the Canadian team as a joke.
Trump has continued the same comment in subsequent social media posts.
“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada,” Trump wrote Dec. 10 on Truth Social.
“I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all!”
Trump has also posted on the platform about encouraging Wayne Gretzky to become prime minister in Canada.
“I just left Wayne Gretzky, ‘The Great One’ as he is known in Ice Hockey circles. I said, ‘Wayne, why don’t you run for Prime Minister of Canada, soon to be known as the Governor of Canada—You would win easily, you wouldn’t even have to campaign,’” Trump posted on Dec. 25.
Another Dec. 25 post by Trump noted that if Canada were to become the 51st state, taxes would drop by 60 percent.
“To Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose Citizens’ Taxes are far too high, but if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60 percent, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote.
Jackson Richman and Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.
