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LA MALBAIE, Que. — Germany’s foreign minister is sending a strong message of support to Canadians, after a muted response from Ottawa’s peers to U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic threats and talk of making Canada an American state.
“To our Canadian friends: your country stands together. Canada’s unity inspires us,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Friday.
“We Europeans, we Germans, and Canada are not only partners; we are close friends. And friends have each other’s back — always.”
She was speaking at the close of the G7 foreign ministers’ meetings in Quebec’s Charlevoix region, where Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has said her G7 colleagues still don’t understand how seriously Canadians are taking Washington’s threats.
“Many of my colleagues coming here thought that this issue was still a joke,” she said Friday, adding that she told peers that Canadians think this isn’t something to be “laughed at.”
Joly previously said the U.S. is trying to drain investment from Canada and make it easier to take over the country.
Baerbock said Germany believes sovereign borders are “inviolable” and must not be breached — and this applies to Ukraine and Greenland as much as it does to Canada.
“If you look at the final declaration underlining territorial integrity for countries, this means every country in the world — and obviously especially NATO countries like Canada, Germany, and all the others,” she said.
On Thursday, Baerbock and the EU’s foreign policy chief had used their clothing choices to send a message of support.
Tagging Joly, Baerbock posted a photo on the platform X of herself wearing white alongside European Commission High Representative Kaja Kallas wearing red, with the words, “We’ve got your back” and a Canadian flag.
“It underlines that diplomacy has different colours,” Baerbock told reporters Friday.
“Especially in these, polarized times and times of social media it’s not only about sentences, it’s about emotions, it’s about feelings — and sometimes, colours may say more than words.”
Separately, Kallas said in a Thursday interview that the fashion statement was about “showing our solidarity to our Canadian friends.”
On Friday, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani pushed back on questions about why he hasn’t spoken out against Trump’s threats, saying his focus is on a functioning G7.
“For me, it’s not my job. For me, Canada will be Canada,” he said earlier Friday. “The most important message today is the unity itself.”
In an interview with CBC, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he is “disappointed” by U.S. tariffs and noted strong U.K. partnerships with Canada.
“This is not a time to sow unnecessary division,” he said.
At Rideau Hall, newly sworn-in Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada doesn’t need to hear support from its peers.
“We’re masters in our home; we’re in charge,” he said. “It’s always nice when people say nice things about you, but we don’t need it; we’re not seeking it.”
He also dismissed Trump’s talk of making Canada an American state.
“It’s crazy; his point is crazy,” he told reporters Friday. “We are a very, fundamentally different country.”
He added that Canada is the leading client for numerous U.S. industries, and rejected the idea that the country would be better off as part of the U.S.
“Clients expect respect, and working together in a proper commercial way.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2025.
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
