King Charles III used a significant speech in Canada\u2019s parliament on Tuesday to underscore the country\u2019s sovereignty following pressure from US President Donald Trump. <\/p>\n
\u201cToday, Canada faces another critical moment. Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination, and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear, and ones which the Government is determined to protect,\u201d the king said from the throne in the Senate chamber as he delivered a speech, which laid out the Canadian government\u2019s legislative agenda for the year ahead. <\/p>\n
Charles, 76, is on a two-day trip to Canada, the first time he has visited the country since assuming the throne in 2022. He is the head of state in Canada and 13 other Commonwealth realms, as well as in the United Kingdom. <\/p>\n
It was the first time in nearly 50 years that a sovereign had delivered the address and was seen by many as a powerful show of support for Canada. <\/p>\n
King Charles\u2019 remarks comes as Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to annex Canada and make it the 51st state \u2014 a move which Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has repeatedly rebuffed. <\/p>\n
During the roughly 26-minute address, which was written by the Canadian government, Charles spoke of the several challenges the nation faced. \u201cThe system of open global trade that, while not perfect, has helped to deliver prosperity for Canadians for decades, is changing. Canada\u2019s relationships with partners are also changing.\u201d <\/p>\n
King Charles discussed the changing relationship between Canada and the United States. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Prime Minister and the President of the United States, for example, have begun defining a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the U.S., rooted in mutual respect and founded on common interests, to deliver transformational benefits for both sovereign nations,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Charles also referenced protecting Canada\u2019s sovereignty, saying that the government would look at \u201crebuilding, rearming, and reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces.\u201d <\/p>\n
He said the government \u201cwill boost Canada\u2019s defence industry by joining ReArm Europe, to invest in transatlantic security with Canada\u2019s European partners. And it will invest to strengthen its presence in the North, which is an integral part of Canada, as this region faces new threats.\u201d <\/p>\n
The monarch added: \u201cThe government will discharge its duty to protect Canadians and their sovereign rights, from wherever challenges may come at home or abroad.\u201d <\/p>\n
King Charles on Tuesday also emphasized that \u201cthe Crown has for so long been a symbol of unity for Canada,\u201d adding that \u201cit also represents stability and continuity from the past to the present.\u201d <\/p>\n
Charles and his wife, Camilla, made their way to parliament by carriage through the streets of the capital. <\/p>\n
As the king formally opened a new session of parliament, he outlined some of Carney\u2019s other priorities, which also focused on domestic issues such as more affordable housing, a tax cut for the middle class and the removal of barriers to interprovincial trade \u2014 themes the prime minister promised voters during the recent election campaign. <\/p>\n
The king alternated between speaking in English and French \u2013 the two official languages of Canada \u2013 and received a standing ovation after wrapping up the speech. <\/p>\n
Jeffrey Dvorkin, journalist and senior fellow at Massey College in Toronto, described the speech as a \u201cdelicate balancing act\u201d after the recent unwanted attention from Trump, but one that touched upon key issues and tensions in Canada. <\/p>\n
\u201cGeography has been the greatest uniting force. But now under Prime Minister Carney, Canadians are looking overseas for a different set of connections without necessarily separating from the best connections that Canada has with the United States,\u201d he continued. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut it certainly was a message to the Trump administration that those days of Canada accepting everything that the United States tries to do, those days are over.\u201d <\/p>\n
King Charles and Queen Camilla were warmly welcomed on the tarmac as the couple touched down in Ottawa on Monday afternoon by Carney and Canadian Governor General Mary Simpson, the monarch\u2019s representative in the country. <\/p>\n
On Monday, Carney \u2013 who was elected in March largely on an anti-Trump platform – praised the \u201chistoric ties\u201d between Canada and the United Kingdom which \u201ccrises only fortify.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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King Charles III used a significant speech in Canada\u2019s parliament on Tuesday to underscore the country\u2019s sovereignty following pressure from US President Donald Trump. \u201cToday, Canada faces another critical moment. Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination, and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear, and ones which the Government is determined to protect,\u201d the <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16720","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}