Stephen Harper told a crowd in Ottawa Tuesday that if he were still prime minister, he would accept “any level of damage” to Canada, rather than see it join the United States as the 51st state.
“I would be prepared to impoverish the country and not be annexed, if that was the option we’re facing,” Harper said.
The former prime minister was speaking before an invitation-only crowd to promote his new book, Flags of Canada, about the history of the Canadian flag. But, given the drama of Donald Trump’s tariff threats against Canada and his now-repeated musings about Canada becoming the 51st state, Harper couldn’t avoid touching on current affairs, according to a report in the Toronto Star.
“Now, because I do think that if Trump were determined, he could really do wide structural and economic damage, but I wouldn’t accept that,” said Harper, according to the Star. “I would accept any level of damage to preserve the independence of the country.”
In recent weeks, Trump’s rhetoric around Canada and Mexico has escalated. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was recently caught on a hot mic saying that he believes Trump’s comments about annexing Canada — which he initially suggested was a joke over dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago — are “a real thing.”
At the moment, Canada and the United States are in a bit of a holding pattern over tariffs. A 30-day pause agreed to last week was upended earlier this week when Trump announced 25-per-cent tariffs on steel and aluminium effective March 12. The across-the-board U.S. tariffs could come into effect on March 4, if Canada’s plan to step up border security doesn’t pacify the president.
Harper, who now runs a consultancy, said that while he was willing to impoverish Canada to maintain its independence, it would also be critical to have a plan to rebuild the country’s economy. The vast majority of Canadian trade goes to our southern neighbour.
“Important in that is to have a plan of how we would reorient our economy, so we would recover that prosperity again, and not just solve the damage,” Harper said.
Since his defeat in 2015, Harper has rarely commented on Canadian public affairs. When he has spoken to the media — fewer than a half-dozen times in the past near-decade — it has often been to U.S. news podcasts, including in January when he shellacked Trudeau to a Florida podcaster and expressed shock at the way Trump has treated its closest ally.
Harper also recently joined the four other living former prime ministers — Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin — to implore Canadians to fly the Canadian flag this Saturday, the 60th anniversary of its adoption.
”In the face of threats and insults from Donald Trump, Canadians have come together to express their love for our country and their determination to defend Canada’s values and our independence,” the five former leaders wrote. “As former prime ministers of Canada, we applaud this national spirit. And we call on our fellow Canadians to show the flag as never before.”
In fact, in Ottawa Tuesday, Harper did commend Trudeau for his patriotic fervour in the face of the Trump threats, the Star reported.
Harper was speaking at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society office in Ottawa to promote his new book, which will be published Feb. 25. Harper spoke about how Canada had evolved from using the Union Jack and the Red Ensign before engaging in an intense debate under Lester B. Pearson to adopt the current Canadian flag.
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