As U.S. President Donald Trump threatens tariffs and pushes for Canada to become the 51st state, his trade adviser Peter Navarro is rebuffing a report that says he is proposing Canada be pushed out of the Five Eyes alliance.
“That was just crazy stuff. We would never, ever jeopardize our national security ever with allies like Canada. Ever,” Navarro said to reporters in Washington, D.C.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that people familiar with Navarro’s efforts say he is “pushing for the U.S. to remove Canada from the Five Eyes” as a way to increase pressure on Canada. The alliance is an intelligence-sharing network which also includes the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
Navarro – who served as a trade adviser during Trump’s first term in office and later served several months in prison for refusing to testify before the U.S. congressional commission investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill attack – has been a big proponent of tariffs as a way to level the playing field for the U.S. when it comes to trade.
The Prime Minister’s Office said they will not comment on The Financial Times reporting.
But speaking to reporters in Montreal on Tuesday, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne defended Canada’s role in the alliance.
“It is a surprising comment, considering the contribution of Canada to the Five Eyes Alliance, not only today, but also in the past, and I would even say in the future,” Champagne said.
“Canada is respected. Canada is valued. Canada is essential to a lot of the intelligence and security work that is being done to protect our citizens, to protect our country, to protect even North America and our allies,” Champagne added.
Transport and Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand was in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to meet with her U.S. counterpart, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy, but told CTV’s Power Play that the issue “did not come up” in her discussions.
‘Not a total shock’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s former national security and intelligence adviser (NSIA) Vincent Rigby says the threat to push Canada out of the Five Eyes Alliance is “not a total shock.”
“I am sure that (the Trump administration) have a long list of potential pressure points, and it would be natural to have the Five Eyes relationship up there as something they may want to hold over Canada’s head,” Rigby said in an interview with CTV National News.
Despite Navarro’s denial, Rigby isn’t convinced.
“While we may not have a fire here, we may have some smoke and some serious smoke,” he said.
Rigby also said the threat of withholding intelligence had been used as a tactic when he served as NSIA during Trump’s first term.
“There were subtle hints that this was a measure that could potentially be applied in an extreme case. It never was. They never came to us and said, explicitly, we’re about to withhold intelligence,” Rigby said.
“But between the lines, you could tell that there was a subtle suggestion that we could always pull back here in terms of some of the information that we shared with you.”
This potential threat is the latest in escalating tensions between Canada and the U.S. On Monday, Trump said that his plan to impose a 25 per cent on imports from Canada and Mexico on March 4 is “on time,” despite efforts by both countries to address border concerns.
Canada is also facing new tariffs on steel and aluminum starting March 12, and the potential for reciprocal tariffs in early April.
Since his election win, Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada, with Trudeau describing that threat as a “real thing” earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon says the U.S. president is “very serious” about his desire to make Canada the 51st state.
“The Canadians should take that as the greatest compliment you’ve ever had,” Bannon said in an interview with CTV National News last week. “There’s not many places in the world that the United States would go around say, we would really be open and we’d love to have you as a state.”
Bannon, who like Navarro served prison time for refusing to cooperate in a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 attack, also said he believes tariffs are inevitable.
“I think President Trump’s coming with tariffs,” Bannon said. “I think the tariffs he’s coming with, I don’t think it’s a negotiating position.”
With files from CTV News Judy Trinh
