Sir Keir Starmer has directly challenged Donald Trump by declaring that "Canada is an independent, sovereign country and a much-valued member of the Commonwealth".
The Prime Minister gave his stout defence of Canada as the country has been rocked by the President's claim that he wants to annex it as the 51st state of America.
Starmer made his remarks en route to a meeting with Canadian counterpart Mark Carney ahead of the G7 summit there later this week.
Asked about Trump's threats to Canada's independence, Starmer said: “Canada and the US are our allies.
Sir Keir Starmer has directly challenged Donald Trump
REUTERS
"Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and quite right, too.
"And that’s the basis on which I've approached my discussions with all of our partners.
"I'm not going to get into the precise conversations I've had, but let me be absolutely clear: Canada is an independent, sovereign country and a much-valued member of the Commonwealth."
The Prime Minister added: "We work closely with Canada on any number of issues, whether that is defense and security - particularly the training in Ukraine, it's been something where Canada and the UK have worked very closely together."
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'Canada is an independent, sovereign country and a much-valued member of the Commonwealth,' Starmer vowed
PA
Starmer also opened the door to a trade deal with Canada, with the final signing of the deal with the US said to be days away.
He said: "We’ve got a massive trading agreement... £28billion of trade between the UK and Canada as it stands.
"And one of the things I want to do is to open the door to taking out further, reducing our trade barriers with Canada.
"So I'm really clear where we stand on that."
The Prime Minister's words follow a symbolic show of sovereignty by the Sovereign himself
PA
The Prime Minister's words follow a symbolic show of sovereignty by the Sovereign himself - King Charles III, the King of Canada, opened the country's Parliament just weeks ago.
Then, the next day, Trump pledged that if Canada became the "cherished 51st state", it would not have to pay to join his future Golden Dome missile programme.
Starmer has also fielded calls to bring Britain closer to Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with Tory Lord Hannan warning peers that "our world has tilted on its axis" as the US now sides with "delinquent" Russia at the UN.
Foreign Office Minister Baroness Chapman, in response, hinted that Labour would listen "sympathetically" to any proposal.
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