Canada's PM hits out at UK for Donald Trump 'gesture' after wild 51st state plan

Canada's PM has hit out at the UK for inviting for an unprecedented

said Canadians "weren't impressed by that gesture" which came amid heightened tensions between the US and Canada. Mr Trump has frequently said he wants to take over Canada and make it the 51st state of the US. Canada, which is a Commonwealth country, is fiercely against the wild plan.

During a tense period between the two North American nations, handed from offering him a state visit when he visited the Oval Office in February. It would make Mr Trump the first ever foreign leader to be given the honour a second time.

Asked about the invite, Mr Carney today told Sky News: "I think, to be frank, they [Canadians] weren't impressed by that gesture, quite simply, given the circumstance. It was at a time when we were being quite clear about the issues around sovereignty. I was not yet Prime Minister but I was being clear on the campaign trail and it cut across some of those messages."

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Asked about Mr Carney's comments, Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said: "We're very pleased there's going to be a second state visit from President Trump. Every country has to decide how he conducts its own relations with other countries. For us, the United States relationship is really important. It's a very long friendship."

He added: "I should also say our relationship and friendship with Canada is really important too. My wife's Canadian. We're part of the Canadian family. It's a really important friendship between the and Canada too."

Asked if he was disappointed in Mr Carney's criticism, Mr McFadden said: "We've got free speech in the . Prime Minister Carney is entitled to his view. He's got to decide how Canada conducts its relationships with the United States, and by the same token, so do we.

"So I'm completely relaxed about the comments, but I'm glad that President Trump is coming on a state visit." He also praised the UK last week securing a trade deal with the US, which he said would save thousands of jobs in Britain.

Mr Carney's win in Canada's election last month has been largely put down to his anti-Trump sentiment. The Liberal politician has said Canada needs to stand up to his "neighbour to the south", saying Mr Trump "wants to break us so America can own us". In a trip to the White House last week, Mr Carney

It comes as Mr Carney made a rare step to ask King Charles to formally open Canada's 45th Parliament later this month. It is the first time in decades that a British monarch would have done such a thing. The Prime Minister spoke with Mr Carney on Monday evening on the phone, where he congratulated him on his "fantastic" recent election win in Canada.

More than 100,000 peoplecalling for Mr Trump's state visit to the UK to be cancelled, especially in the wake of his treatment of . Mr Trump and his sidekick JD Vance ambushed the Ukrainian President when he visited the White House earlier this year.

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