LA MALBAIE: Canada’s sovereignty is not negotiable, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told her US counterpart this week as the two met for what she called a frank discussion amid US President Donald Trump’s ongoing tariff war and threats of a takeover.

Joly met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday as diplomats from the G7 nations gathered in Canada this week to discuss a range of global issues, including wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. A call between Trump and incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is being sworn in later on Friday, was being planned for some time in the next few days, she told reporters.

“We will put maximum pressure on the Americans” when it comes to tariffs and trade, Joly told reporters at the G7 on Friday, detailing her conversation with Rubio.

“Meanwhile, we’ll work on finding off-ramps because we know ultimately, at the end of the day, the Trump tariffs are going to hurt Americans.”

She said she had a long and frank conversation with Rubio, and reiterated that despite Trump’s repeated threats to make its neighbour to the north the 51st US state, Canada would remain independent. “Of course, Canada’s sovereignty is not up for debate,” Joly said she told the top US diplomat.

Still, Joly said, she and Rubio agreed that they could still try to reach a consensus on various issues even while they disagreed on some others. “What Secretary Rubio and I have been able to agree on was: we won’t let things that we don’t agree on stop us to agree on other things, and that was the essence of the meeting,” she said.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2025