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King Charles says Canada would remain 'strong and free' in speech from the throne
Charles, who is speaking during a symbolic visit to show support for Canada at a time it has faced US annexation threats, expresses his love for Canada and says the country would remain “strong and free”.
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Canada and the US have begun defining a new economic and security relationship, he says, rooted in mutual respect and rooted in common interests to deliver transformational benefits for both sovereign nations.
'Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power can ever take away,' says Charles
A confident Canada, Charles says, can recognize that all Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away.
By staying true to Canadian values, Canada can build new alliances and a new economy that serves all Canadians, he says.
It’s an opportunity for renewal and big thinking, Charles says, for Canada to transform its economy in the largest way since ww2.
Many Canadians feel anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them, he says.
The system of open global trade that has helped to deliver prosperity to Canada, he says, is changing.
Canada’s relationships with partners are also changing, he says.
'Canada faces critical moment' in protecting democracy, freedom and self-determination says Charles
Today, Canada faces another critical moment, Charles says.
Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination, and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear and ones which the government is determined to protect, he says.
When his mother opened Canada’s parliament in 1957, ww2 was a “fresh and painful memory”, he says, and the cold war was intensifying, with freedom and democracy under threat.
Canada, he says, meanwhile was emerging as a force of peace in the world.
King Charles says Canada would remain 'strong and free' in speech from the throne
Charles, who is speaking during a symbolic visit to show support for Canada at a time it has faced US annexation threats, expresses his love for Canada and says the country would remain “strong and free”.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day / VJ Day, he says, in which many Canadians fought and died with the allies.
I should have said, these are Charles’s personal remarks before the speech itself.
He credits Canada’s “unique identity” on his 20th visit to the country.
Charles is speaking now, he refers to a “renewed sense of national pride, unity and hope”.
The speech has arrived in the room and Charles will speak momentarily. We have a feed at the top of the blog if you’d like to watch along.
Charles, who is here in his capacity as king of Canada, is now sitting on the throne after working the room and greeting officials for the last 10 or so minutes. He’s currently speaking to PM Mark Carney and the speech is due to begin shortly.
University of Toronto political science professor Elizabeth McCallion told CBS News reckons Charles’s speech to parliament, which will set out the government’s agenda, is unlikely to name Trump overtly, but it could mention Canada’s sovereignty. She said:
Everybody knows what it means in this context.
McCallion added that the speech could have more explicit references to the US-Canada trade relationship, as Trump imposed sweeping and steep tariffs on Canadian goods, prompting Canada to hit back with retaliatory levies.
She said that ultimately Charles’s visit is likely intended as a “reminder that we are an independent country” adding:
Our national identity is at times muddied because it’s made up of so many different cultures that have come together. Often, Canadians primarily express their national identity as not being American.
The monarch, who formally serves as Canada’s head of state, is in the country on a two-day visit that is being widely viewed as a kind of pushback against Donald Trump’s musings about making Canada the 51st US state.
He and Queen Camilla have just arrived in parliament.
King Charles III to deliver speech to open Canadian parliament in pushback against Trump annexation threats
King Charles III is in Ottawa for the formal opening of Canada’s parliament, where he will deliver the “speech from the throne”. The highly unusual move – that will mark only the third time a monarch has delivered the speech - is widely being read as a stern reminder to Donald Trump of Canada’s sovereignty, amid the US president’s repeated annexation threats and tariff policies. Indeed given Trump’s longstanding fascination with the British royal family, the speech is sure to be symbolic in a number of ways.
The speech has been written by the prime minister’s office, as is tradition in Commonwealth countries. Canadian PM Mark Carney said it would outline, among other things, Canada’s economic and security relationship with the United States, and its shared history with England. It is usually made by the monarch’s representative in Canada, the governor-general, but, the Associated Press reported, Trump’s repeated threats to annex Canada prompted Carney to invite Charles to deliver the speech. In a statement welcoming Charles yesterday, the prime minister didn’t mention Trump, but did hint at Canada’s “distinct identity” and “historic ties that crises only fortify”.
The speech is expected at 11am ET – I’ll bring you all the key lines here.
Trump says EU call to set up trade meetings is positive and he feels 'empowered' to make a deal after delaying 50% tariff
Donald Trump said the EU’s move to set up trade meetings was positive and that he hoped Europe would “open up” to trade with the US.
He wrote on Truth Social:
I was extremely satisfied with the 50% Tariff allotment on the European Union, especially since they were “slow walking (to put it mildly!), our negotiations with them. Remember, I am empowered to “SET A DEAL” for Trade into the United States if we are unable to make a deal, or are treated unfairly. I have just been informed that the E.U. has called to quickly establish meeting dates. This is a positive event, and I hope that they will, FINALLY, like my same demand to China, open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of America. They will BOTH be very happy, and successful, if they do!!!
Trump announced on Sunday that we would delay his threatened 50% tariffs on all European Union imports into the US, after what he described as a “very nice call” with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen wrote that she had a “Good call with POTUS” in a social media post announcing she had secured a tariff delay of more than a month, to 9 July, to give both sides more time to negotiate.
The decision marks a U-turn since Friday, when Trump warned he would impose the 50% tariffs on 1 June because discussions with the EU were “going nowhere”. Trump claimed he was “not looking for a deal” that could deter the levies.
Trump threatens to pull funding as he says he will speak to California governor Gavin Newsom about transgender athletes
Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding if authorities in California did not bar a transgender athlete from state finals and said he would speak with the state’s governor Gavin Newsom on the matter today.
Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social in which he misspelled Newsom’s name:
California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum, continues to ILLEGALLY allow “MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS.” This week a transitioned Male athlete, at a major event, won “everything,” and is now qualified to compete in the “State Finals” next weekend. As a Male, he was a less than average competitor. As a Female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable. THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS. Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to. The Governor, himself, said it is “UNFAIR.” I will speak to him today to find out which way he wants to go??? In the meantime I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals. This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!
In early February Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports, in a slew of moves rolling back the rights of trans people since he resumed office.
The order – titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” - establishes stricter mandates on sports and gender policy, directing federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, to interpret federal Title IX rules as the prohibition of transgender girls and women from participating in any female sports categories.
Newsom, a Democrat, shocked and angered his political and LGBTQ+ allies in March when he said on his podcast in conversation with influential Maga figure Charlie Kirk that it’s “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to participate in female college and youth sports.
'This wolf comes as a wolf': NPR sues Trump administration over 'retaliatory' order to cut taxpayer funding for NPR and PBS
Public broadcaster NPR and three Colorado public radio stations have sued the Trump administration over the president’s executive order to cease federal funding for NPR and fellow broadcaster PBS, calling the order an “affront to the first amendment”.
An extract from the broadcasters’ lawsuit, filed earlier today in the District of Columbia, reads:
It is not always obvious when the government has acted with a retaliatory purpose in violation of the First Amendment. ‘But this wolf comes as a wolf. The Order targets NPR and PBS expressly because, in the President’s view, their news and other content is not ‘fair, accurate, or unbiased’.
Per NPR, “the lawsuit says the administration is usurping Congress’ right to direct how federal money will be spent and to pass laws. It calls Trump’s early May executive order ‘textbook retaliation’ and an existential threat to the public radio system ‘that millions of Americans across the country rely on for vital news and information’.”
NPR’s chief executive Katherine Maher said in a statement:
The Executive Order is a clear violation of the Constitution and the First Amendment’s protections for freedom of speech and association, and freedom of the press.
This is retaliatory, viewpoint-based discrimination in violation of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has ruled numerous times over the past 80 years that the government does not have the right to determine what counts as ‘biased’.
NPR will never agree to this infringement of our constitutional rights, or the constitutional rights of our Member stations, and NPR will not compromise our commitment to an independent free press and journalistic integrity.
The three stations joining in the suit are the statewide Colorado Public Radio, based in Denver; Aspen Public Radio which broadcasts throughout the Roaring Fork Valley; and KSUT, originally founded by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and now serving four federally recognized tribes in the Four Corners region in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
