A report by The New York Times has revealed that during two phone calls with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on February 3, Donald Trump expressed his desire to “revise the boundary” between the United States and Canada. He also questioned the legitimacy of a 117-year-old treaty that established the border between the two nations.
Since his return to the White House nearly two months ago, Trump has taken a combative stance toward Canada. He has floated ideas such as making the country “the 51st American state,” dismissed the US-Canada border as “an artificially drawn line,” and threatened sweeping tariffs.
According to the report, Trump and Trudeau’s calls largely focused on the President’s plans to impose tariffs on Canadian imports and his “long list of grievances” regarding trade relations. During one call, Trump reportedly told Trudeau that “he did not believe the treaty that demarcates the border between the two countries was valid” and that he wants to revise the boundary. He offered no further explanation.”
Trudeau responded by stating that the 1908 treaty had since been replaced by the Canadian Constitution. He also reminded Trump that his father, former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, had patriated the Constitution and introduced the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, securing Canada’s full sovereignty over its territory.
Beyond border changes, Trump also suggested revisiting agreements on shared lakes and rivers, which are currently regulated by multiple treaties. Canadian officials reportedly took Trump’s remarks seriously, given his previous threats to use “economic force to bring Canada to its knees.”
Since winning the November 2024 US Presidential election, Trump has repeatedly threatened Canada with tariffs. On Thursday, he imposed tariffs of up to 25% on Canadian imports, only to pause them for a month after market turbulence raised concerns over inflation and economic slowdown.
In response, the Ottawa government delayed its planned retaliatory tariffs on $125 billion Canadian dollars worth of US products until April 2.
Earlier this week, Trump renewed his “Governor Trudeau” jibe, accusing the outgoing leader of using the escalating trade war to cling to power.