CNN - In a recent interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly expressed strong opposition to President Trump's trade policies, asserting that Canadians have endured excessive disrespect from the Trump administration and are prepared to defend their nation's sovereignty and economic interests.

Joly emphasized Canada's commitment to protecting its identity and autonomy, stating, "We are a strong country. We will defend our sovereignty, we'll defend our jobs, we'll defend our way of living."

She criticized the Trump administration's trade actions as unjustifiable, highlighting that Canada is the United States' largest trading partner, purchasing more from American businesses than the UK, France, China, and Japan combined. Joly warned that imposing a 25 percent tariff on the Canadian economy effectively targets American citizens.

Addressing perceived slights, Joly noted that referring to Canada as the "51st state" and labeling Prime Minister Trudeau as a "governor" is disrespectful. She advocated for reducing internal trade barriers among Canadian provinces and territories and strengthening economic ties with the UK, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico.

Joly also expressed concerns about the uncertainty caused by temporary tariff reprieves, stating that such instability hampers business investment. She emphasized the need to restore certainty while exploring diplomatic solutions to the trade dispute.

On global security matters, Joly underscored the importance of securing a favorable resolution in Ukraine, cautioning that a poor outcome could embolden China regarding Taiwan, thereby posing a global threat.

Amanpour reacted to Joly's remarks with astonishment, stating, "I'm like, my mouth has dropped. My jaw has dropped." F

Following is the complete, unedited transcript of the interview:

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, ANCHOR, AMANPOUR: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly joins us now from Toronto. Foreign Minister, welcome to the program.

MELANIE JOLY, CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER:  Thank you, Christiane.

AMANPOUR:  Can I first start with what is directly hitting your country? It is -- I think your prime minister said a trade war. The U.S. has launched a trade war. Can you tell me how this is affecting you and did you ever expect your closest you know, ally with a 5,000-mile border to get into this kind of fight with you?

JOLY:  Well, this is completely unjustified and unjustifiable coming from the Trump administration. Canada's the biggest trading partner to the U.S. We're the biggest client. We buy more from American businesses than the U.K., France, China, and Japan combined.

So, when President Trump actually imposes 25 percent tariffs against our economy and starts a trade war, he is actually going after his own American people, because this will cost more for them at the pump, at the grocery store, or when they buy a new house or they want to do renovations. So, this will drive the cost of things and products and cost of living in the U.S. And it will actually also hurt a lot of jobs in the U.S. and a lot of people will lose their job. 

So, there's nobody that is winning out of this. But President Trump still is continuing to attack the Canadian economy. And therefore, also the American people's cost of living.

AMANPOUR:  So, he just announced a 30-day reprieve and also with Mexico. I think in Canada it's specifically on auto parts or the auto industry after being lobbied, I believe, by the U.S. auto industry. And you have said, but hang on a second, we're not going to go through, quote, "this psycho drama every 30 days." What is this on and off again thing? What does that do to a nation's economy?

JOLY:  Well, of course, we can't go through that drama every single 30 days because this is creating too much uncertainty. And we know that business investments is allergic to any form of uncertainty. And we know also that President Trump wants to attract more of the investments to his own country going against a very trade agreement that has bound us for many, many years.

So, my point is this, we need to make sure that we are able to bring back certainty, but while doing that, and of course, being in the -- in charge of the Canadian diplomacy, I'll be working on off ramps, we'll find a way to get through this, but we are standing strong in Canada.

Because, Christiane, what's important for viewers to understand right now is the Trump administration has not only put trade is an issue on the table, they've been presenting many other things, including military cooperation, security and intelligence cooperation, water cooperation, and I could go on and on and on. And that's enough.

Canadians have had enough. We are a strong country. We will defend our sovereignty, we'll defend our jobs, we'll defend our way of living, and we will make sure that, at the same time, the very targets of this trade war, the American people, are very much aware and are putting pressure on the president that is doing all of that to them and to us. 

AMANPOUR:  So, that was pretty straightforward what you just did. That's enough. Prime Minister Trudeau has also said the same and he's responded and he says in the next few weeks, I believe, tariffs on a $100 billion of American goods coming in, and you've said it's an existential threat to you.

Just a quick question. The Trump administration, the president says too much fentanyl, too many migrants coming across the border.

JOLY:  But that's not true, because fundamentally, less than 1 percent of fentanyl actually comes from Canada through the U.S. We know that there's a scourge of fentanyl in North America. We know that too many Canadians and American lives are being taken by this catastrophic drug. But fundamentally, we have a very strong and secure border.

We have $1.3 billion worth of investment in our new border plan. We've invested in more boots on the ground, Blackhawk helicopters, a new fentanyl strike force with the Americans. We also have a new fentanyl czar. We've done everything that was required under the executive order that President Trump signed to legitimize, to give him the powers to impose these tariffs.

But clearly, this is not the issue right now. This is a pretext. This is not the right argument. Because fundamentally, the U.S. is a net exporter of illegal migrants, of illegal guns, and illegal drugs to Canada. So, what is at stake is more than that. President Trump wants to put us into a state where we are much more weakened economically in order eventually to annex us. He said that he's questioned our border as well.

So, while we've been working on the diplomatic level and working with many of his secretaries, working with him, and I've been involved in all of this, of course, with the prime minister and the minister of finance, Dominic LeBlanc, here in Canada, it was important for Canadians and the world to know what is exactly happening. And when the U.S. decided to launch this trade war, this week, well, we decided to make it public.

AMANPOUR:  You know, I mean, even Prime Minister Trudeau was caught on a hot mic or whatever saying to people, this is real, this threat to annex Canada and make it a 51st state. I mean, most people thought that was just a joke. It's a negotiating ploy. It's whatever it is. It's Trump being Trump. Why do you think it's serious? Why would America want to do that? And how can you stop them?

JOLY:  Well, first, we can definitely stop them because Canadians are united. They're united to defend our country. They're united to defend our jobs. And as I was saying, also our way of life. We're not Americans, we're very proud of our country. And when you look back at our history, we created Canada at the time, and we were part of the British Empire because we didn't want to be the United States.

And as you can hear from my accent, I'm a francophone from Canada, and there was also this grand bargain between francophones and anglophones to make sure ultimately that we could create a strong country in North America. So, based on that, we want to make sure that we defend who we are as a country. And we've shown -- we've been shown too much disrespect by the Trump administration at this point, calling us a 51st state, calling our prime minister governor.

This is not only a personal issue between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump, it's way more than that. It is much more than just the political rhetoric. It is a fundamental threat. So, what we're doing at home is we need to make sure that there's less internal barriers between our provinces and territories because that's an issue. We think we can offset a lot of the impacts of the tariffs coming from the United States by being much more aligned as a federation, economically speaking. We want to be closer to the U.K., like we did throughout our history. We want to be closer to Europe, closer also to Japan and also South Korea, and we'll continue to work with Mexico. That's just a reality.

But fundamentally, if you ask me what President Trump wants, well, that's a question to ask to him, but we know that we have everything a country would dream of to have in the world. Why? Because we have all the energy necessary. We have all the fertilizers and potash necessary. We have all the land and also, we're, you know, an agricultural superpower. We have all the uranium necessary, the hydroelectricity, the oil and gas. We have all the people, the critical minerals, the talent. I could go on and on and on. 

That's why we believe we're one of the best countries on earth. And we're stable We're democratic. We look out for each other. We have very strong social programs You know, so we're a very stable democracy.

AMANPOUR:  Yes, I want to ask you one last -- 

JOLY:  And so, we -- 

AMANPOUR:  Yes. I have to tell you, it is really -- I'm like, my mouth is dropped. My jaw is dropped. Here is a major ally with a common border, and you're talking about having to defend yourself against America and talking about separating yourself from America towards Mexico and Europe. It is -- we're -- it's just I can't barely internalize it. It's like the end of an era.

But I want to ask you also, you said there are more threats regarding military cooperation and the rest, and they've threatened, apparently, to kick you out of Five Eyes. I want to know what that would do to you and what you think of their pause on intelligence sharing with Ukraine at this existential moment for that country.

JOLY:  So, we believe that we have to expand our security intelligence partnership with other countries as well. We -- you know, we never started this. We're close to the American people. We're their neighbors. We're their best friends. We're their partners. So, we have many families and friends on the other side of the border.

And we know that the American people don't agree with what President Trump says. We've heard it. So, many of them have been apologizing for all the rhetoric that is coming out of the White House on this. But at the same time, it is important that our viewers, that the world know what's going on.

And fundamentally, we will do the work to make sure that we have the partnerships that are necessary to protect ourselves, and at the same time, to protect others.

If there's a country on Earth that understands the Americans, it's us. And so, we can explain to Europe what's going on. We can explain to our North Pacific partners, our Mexican and Latin American partners, our African partners, and -- what's going on. And I could go on and on and on.

But what I can tell you, though, about intelligence sharing, I was with -- I was on a call with Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, yesterday regarding this very issue of intelligence sharing. I raised it with him because I thought it was really, really important because I'm very concerned. We understand that Europe is a threat when Russia goes unchecked. We understand that. That's why we've been there -- 

AMANPOUR:  What did he say?

JOLY:  -- supporting NATO for 80 years. That's -- well, he didn't confirm that that was the case.

AMANPOUR:  OK.

JOLY:  He was referring to the fact that it is important to have a good deal on Ukraine. And indeed, it is important to have a good deal on Ukraine.

AMANPOUR:  All right.

JOLY:  Because not only is it important for Europe's security, but I'll end on that, Christiane, it's important also for the security we have as Pacific nations, the U.S. and Canada, when it comes to China, because China is looking at what's going on in Europe and what's going on in Ukraine. And having a bad deal on Ukraine would send a message on Taiwan and actually to China. And that's dangerous for the world.

AMANPOUR:  Yes, and it's just so interesting to hear you lay it out. And as we continue to follow this massive realignment that seems to be going on. Foreign Minister, thank you for being with us.

This article is provided in cooperation with CNN.

Source: CNN