Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s final swipe at Donald Trump in emotional exit speech before resigning
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, World News
Niamh Spence
Featured Image Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, World News
Leaving on a high, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made a final dig at President Donald Trump as he made his exit speech at the weekend.
Trudeau, who is stepping down from his role and is being replaced by Mark Carney, didn't hold back - especially in light of the US trade stance.
Last week, Trump's administration hit Canadian goods with a savage new 25 percent tariff, after which Canada retaliated by adding its own 25 percent tariffs onto $155b in US goods.
In his exit speech on Sunday (9 March), Trudeau addressed the President of the US once again.
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Speaking at the Liberal Party conference, he said: "Now as Canadians face from our neighbour an existential challenge and economic crisis, Canadians are showing what we are made off.
"Standing up for everyone’s fundamental rights is the only way to protect our freedom."
This isn't the first time Trudeau has used his hard hitting words, as he previously hit back at the new Canadian tariff, telling press in a televised address: "It’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though you are a very smart guy, this a very dumb thing to do."
A month earlier, Trudeau also hit back at a series of comments Trump allegedly made about turning Canada into America's '51st state'.
On 20 February, he tweeted: "You can’t take our country, and you can’t take our game," in response to his country's victory over the US during a 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Hockey Game.
Trudeau's statement was subsequently interpreted as a damning political statement.
Trudeau isn't the only one who has hit back at Trump and his administration, as new Canadian PM Mark Carney has also hit out at the US, having described America as a country that he 'could no longer trust', as per the BBC.
The ex Bank Of England boss addressed escalating tariff-related tensions during a bold speech, in which he accused the 78-year-old Republican of 'attacking Canadian families'.
Carney also accused Trump of planning to 'destroy the Canadian way of life', while describing his trade plans as one of the 'greatest crises of our lifetime'.
"There is someone who is trying to weaken our economy: Donald Trump," Carney began. "Donald Trump has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, sell and how we make a living."
He also hit out at the US over the potential future tariffs the country might hit Canada with, as he added: "The Canadian government has rightly retaliated with tariffs. We will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect. We did not ask for this fight. But Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves."
He continued: "Make no mistake, Canada will win. We have made this the greatest country in the world and now our neighbours want to take us. No way. We can’t change Donald Trump … [but] because we’re masters in our own home, we can control our economic destiny."