Canada's prime minister vows to "relentlessly" fight Trump's annexation threats

Ottawa, Canada - 's new government will relentlessly protect the nation's sovereignty as it works to redefine fraught relations with the , Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday as his cabinet was sworn in.

Canada's new government will relentlessly protect the nation's sovereignty as it works to redefine fraught relations with the US, Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed on Tuesday. © Dave Chan / AFP

Carney's election win two weeks ago was largely defined by threats from President , whose trade war and repeated talk of annexing the US' northern neighbor upended Canadian politics.

Carney, a former central banker with experience leading through major financial crises, convinced enough voters that he was the right choice to take on Trump, whose tariffs on imported autos and other goods have already cost Canadian jobs.

"Canadians elected this new government with a strong mandate to define a new economic and security relationship with the United States," Carney said in a statement before his new ministers took their oaths.

Addressing reporters after the ceremony, with a cabinet of Liberal Party loyalists assembled behind him, Carney said his "government will work relentlessly to keep Canada secure as a sovereign nation."

Trump discussed on several occasions in his first Oval Office meeting with Carney last week.

The president insisted it would be a "wonderful marriage" if Canada agreed to his repeated calls to become the 51st US state.

Carney replied that and referenced the deep hostility among Canadians towards the prospect of a political union with the US.