King Charles III arrives in Canada amid rigidity with Trump | Politics News | USAEMALL.com

British monarch is expected to voice support for Canada’s sovereignty against the US president’s 51st state comments.

King Charles III, the British monarch, has arrived in Canada for a two-day visit that officials say aims to assert support for the country’s sovereignty amid President Donald Trump’s calls for annexing the United States’s northern neighbour.

The monarch’s trip, which started on Monday, comes at the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose party won the general election last month amid Trump’s threats.

Charles is the ceremonial head of state in Canada, which remained a Commonwealth realm after gaining independence from Great Britain in 1867.

The king is to open parliament in Ottawa on Tuesday with a “Speech from the Throne” – the first such address to be delivered by a British monarch in Canada since 1977.

While the British monarch has refrained from interfering in politics in recent decades and remained a symbolic figure, Charles is expected to deliver a message of support for Canada against Trump’s statements.

Later on Monday, Carney said Canada is “honoured” to welcome Charles and his wife Queen Camilla, adding that the royal visit highlights “the vitality of our constitutional monarchy and our distinct identity”.

“To that end, the Speech from the Throne will outline the government’s ambitious plan to act with urgency and determination, and to deliver the change Canadians want and deserve: to define a new economic and security relationship with the United States … to bring down the cost of living, and to keep communities safe,” Carney said in a statement.

Canadian officials have forcefully rejected Trump’s comments about making their country the 51st US state as a trade row between the two countries continues.

Canada’s envoy to the United Kingdom, Ralph Goodale, told reporters last week that “the king, as head of state, will reinforce the power” of Carney’s message that Canada is not for sale.

Governor General Mary Simon, the monarch’s ceremonial representative in Canada, also said the royal couple’s visit holds “profound significance”.

“It reaffirms the enduring constitutional bond that has shaped Canada’s journey into a proud and independent nation,” Simon, who is the first Indigenous person to hold the position, said in a statement.

Charles’s trip will be his first visit to the former British colony since becoming king in September 2022.

Barbara Messamore, professor of history at the University of the Fraser Valley, said as the monarch of Canada, Charles visits the country “as a Canadian”.

“The reaction to the king’s visit has been very positive,” Messamore told Al Jazeera. “We don’t always all agree on our form of governance, but we’ve made it very difficult to change that fundamental aspect of our Canadian constitution.”

Justin Vovk, royal historian at McMaster University, stressed that the king is unlikely to make any explicit statements against Trump during his visit.

“If people are expecting to hear Donald Trump’s name mentioned or ‘the 51st state’ mentioned, they are going to be disappointed,” Vovk told Al Jazeera. “The King has a very small constitutional box that he has to operate in.”

He added that expressions of support for Canada will “be couched in very generic terms”.

On Monday, the royal couple greeted supporters at a park in Ottawa and met vendors and artists. The king also participated in a ceremonial puck drop to launch a street hockey demonstration before planting a tree at Rideau Hall in another part of the city.