King versus Trump. Column by Vitaliy Portnikov

However, I would not call this a constant and regular tradition. The last time a British monarch — of course, Charles III’s mother Elizabeth II — opened the Canadian parliament with a throne speech was in 1977. Now Charles III came to Canada on this honorable mission at the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Many in Canada and beyond consider this visit and the king’s speech to the Canadian parliament with the government’s program a serious signal to the President of the United States, Donald Trump. Since his election as the head of the neighboring country, Trump repeatedly called Canada the 51st state and referred to its former prime minister Trudeau several times as the governor of Canada, not its prime minister.

Now Trump is reminded that according to Canadian law, Canada has a head of state. And this head of state is neither the prime minister nor the governor general, who represents the monarch, but the King himself, who recently called himself not only the King of Great Britain but also the King of Canada. This is also a quite serious signal directed at the President of the United States.

And of course, we must understand that such a speech and such a visit on the day of the opening of the Canadian parliament demonstrate that this country has its own state traditions, its own law, and that it really seriously differs from the United States. The United States and Canada exist as two separate states on the North American continent precisely because the populations of each country had different views about their future. We can at least notice how institutions function. We see King Charles as a person opening the Canadian parliament with his speech.

And of course, this is not only a signal to Trump but also a signal to the citizens of Canada who may feel some uncertainty about the future amid the offensive and unrealistic statements of the self-absorbed American president. Yes, one can see it as a political joke or an invitation to economic negotiations that could lead to favorable results for Donald Trump.

But ignoring the insults and neglect of sovereignty could end very badly for a country that does not sense challenges and threats. Ukrainians could tell Canadians more about this than we would like to know ourselves.

Therefore, the visit of King Charles III is indeed a very important and serious event, not only because of what is happening in Canada itself but also because of what is happening in the world after Donald Trump became the new president of the United States in what I would call his current intellectual condition.

It is worth recalling that the previous Trump did not make any statements about annexing Canada to the United States so seriously and openly. And he did not scare Canadians with his behavior regarding their country — although this may not be only about Canada itself. This is also an important lesson that sovereignty must be supported and defended.

By the way, Ottawa wanted to influence London regarding whether it was really worth inviting Donald Trump for an unprecedented second state visit to Great Britain when Trump allows himself such statements about Canada and its sovereignty.

Of course, London would rather not pay attention to these remarks because British Prime Minister Starmer, who recently visited Trump, considers this visit a key to the heart of the American president, who loves lavish ceremonies and admires his own portraits.

And we know what kind of sympathy and attention Donald Trump shows to the British royal family, apparently because in some other life he would have liked not to be the president of a republican democratic state but a simple monarch, without having to think about elections or any limitation of his own power, which annoys him so much in the United States.

And, of course, in this situation, King Charles III’s invitation to Donald Trump for a state visit, and before that to come to Great Britain and discuss the details of this visit — how beautiful it will look and how handsome Donald Trump will be during this visit — is an important part of British politics aimed at reaching an understanding with the current American president.

Prime Minister Starmer tries to play on Trump’s field. But at the same time, in this situation, the king as the sovereign of Canada has both the right and the opportunity to speak in the country that Trump repeatedly called the 51st state of his own country with a traditional throne speech.

I am sure that Donald Trump will certainly pay attention both to this ceremony and to the appearance of the king, and to how he will look if he ignores the British monarch in response to his appearance in Canada’s capital and his solemn speech in this capital.

Thus, the very demonstration of the fact that Canada has its own sovereign and its own sovereignty took place with all possible pomp and ceremony.

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About the author: Vitaliy Portnikov, journalist, laureate of the National Shevchenko Prize of Ukraine

The editorial board does not always share the opinions expressed by authors.