Canada will 'never, ever' be part of United States, says new prime minister

Canada's new prime minister slammed US Secretary of State Rubio calling his country the “51st state” at Friday's G7 meeting in Quebec, vowing that Canada will "never, ever" be a part of its southern neighbor.

In his first official news conference after being sworn in, Mark Carney told reporters that his new government has a number of priorities, mentioning first of all US tariffs, saying it will protect “Canadian workers and their families in the face of unjustified foreign trade actions.”

Asked about Rubio's comments made on Canadian soil – echoing months of similar remarks by US President Donald Trump – Carney called them "crazy."

Carney was later asked about his upcoming visit to Europe and whether he would be "seeking assurances from Canada's allies that this country will never become America's 51st state."

"We will never, ever, in any way, shape or form, be part of the United States," he said, stressing: "America is not Canada."

Touting the Canadian difference, he said of his new and diverse Cabinet: “You would not have that Cabinet in America. You do not have that Cabinet in America.”

He added: "We are a very fundamentally different country."

Carney also said he does not "have plans to go the United States," but gave assurances that he is looking "forward to speaking to him (Trump) at the appropriate moment."