Defence minister defends sovereignty after Trump promises access to Golden Dome for $61B — or annexation
CBC
Defence Minister David McGuinty says Canada will control its defence spending, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his rhetoric to make the country the 51st state — this time in exchange for protection under a proposed missile defence system.
"I learned a long time ago when it comes to managing relationships with other countries, you can only control what you can control," McGuinty told reporters ahead of a caucus meeting Wednesday.
"And what we can control here now is decisions around strengthening our sovereignty and our security. We can also control our expenditures."
Trump posted on social media Tuesday that it will cost Canada $61 billion US to join the Golden Dome system "if they remain a separate, but unequal, nation," but will cost nothing "if they become our cherished 51st state."
McGuinty did not engage on the $61-billion price tag, only saying the fall budget will have more details.
"I'm not in a position to evaluate the numbers," he said.
Trump's revised 51st state rhetoric came just hours after King Charles made a whirlwind trip to Ottawa, where he delivered a speech from the throne that pressed upon Canada's unique identity and underscored its sovereignty.
Trump's comment also comes after U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra suggested Canadians move past the "51st state" talk.
"If the Canadians want to keep talking about it, that's their business," he told CBC's The House late last week.
"I'm not talking about it. Donald Trump is not talking about it."
Other Liberal MPs balked at the annexation comments on their way into the meeting ahead of the session's first question period.
"It's outrageous," Winnipeg West MP Doug Eyolfson said on his way into a caucus meeting on the hill.
"A bribe is a bribe to become the 51st state. And Canada won't take a bribe."
Humber River-Black Creek Liberal MP Judy Sgro said Trump doesn't even know the real cost of the project and is trying to stir the pot.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.