The president’s intensifying focus on Canada behind closed doors, whose relationship with the US has been deeply strained since he came into office, comes as he transforms some of his longtime criticisms of America’s neighbours in the Western Hemisphere into actions aimed at expanding US power in the region.
Protecting Canada’s northern border is a key part of Trump and his top aides’ vision of “solidifying” the Western Hemisphere, as one of the US officials put it. As the Americans see it, the acquisition of Greenland would also benefit Canada.
“At the end of the day, this is to stop Russia and China from having a further presence in the Arctic,” the senior administration official said. “Canada stands to benefit from the US having Greenland.”
Canada’s position is that Greenland’s fate is up to Greenland and Denmark. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday that Canada stands behind Denmark as a NATO ally.
Asked about the president’s recent renewed focus on Canada behind closed doors, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement that an executive order Trump signed last April “underscores the United States’ commitment to ensuring both freedom of navigation and American dominance in the Arctic waterways.”
Source:
Katherine Doyle, Carol E. Lee, Courtney Kube and Kristen Welker, NBC News: Trump’s latest Western Hemisphere fixation: Canada https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trumps-latest-western-hemisphere-fixation-canada-rcna254552