By ROB GILLIES
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with King Charles III, the country’s head of state, on Monday where he will discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state.
The king has come under criticism in Canada for being silent about Trump’s threats to annex Canada.
Trudeau said in London on Sunday he will discuss matters of importance to Canadians with Charles and said “nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation.”
Charles is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.
Overall, the antiroyal movement in Canada is small, but the silence of the monarch on Trump’s threats have spurred talk in recent days.
Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said “for Canadians disappointed that King Charles has not commented” on Trump’s threats he can only act on the advice of Canada’s prime minister.
“The Government of Canada should ask the Head of State to underscore Canadian sovereignty,” Kenney posted on X.
The king, who met Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has invited Trump to come to Scotland for a state visit.
“Great news that the Prime Minister will be having an audience with the King of Canada tomorrow. Hopefully this result in the King making a statement regarding his Canadian Realm,” constitutional lawyer Lyle Skinner posed on X.
Academic Philippe Lagassé said the UK government will likely fight possible advice from Trudeau for the king to speak out on Canada’s behalf but Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said many Canadians would want a public statement from the king and they might be mad if that doesn’t happen.
Béland said he hopes Trudeau raises it with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer first.
“This is a highly delicate diplomatic matter and these three players must tread very carefully, not only because of the tense international context and President Trump’s potential negative public reaction but also because any mistake here could hurt the image and political legitimacy of the monarchy,” Béland said.
Though Canadians are somewhat indifferent to the monarchy, many had great affection for the late Queen Elizabeth, whose silhouette marks their coins. She was the head of state for more than 40% of Canada’s existence and visited the country 22 times as monarch.
Visits by Charles over the years have attracted sparse crowds.
“Canadians will need to decide what purpose King Charles III serves as King of Canada if he can’t even speak up for our sovereignty,” Artur Wilczynski, a former Canadian public servant, posted on X.
Abolishing the monarchy would mean changing the constitution. That’s an inherently risky undertaking, given how delicately it is engineered to unite a nation of 41 million people that embraces English-speakers, French-speakers, Indigenous tribes and a constant flow of new immigrants.