Episode description

With just under two weeks until he re-takes the Oval Office, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has outlined a mind-map of sorts to, as he says, “make Canada the 51st American state.”

He has referred to the border separating Canada and the U.S. as an “artificial line,” called Justin Trudeau Canada’s “Governor” and said Canada would “dissolve” without U.S. assistance.

At the same time, he’s not ruling out forcibly incorporating the territory of Greenland into the U.S. and seizing control of the Panama Canal, a crucial shipping route.

Threat, negotiation tactic, or meaningless bluster? CBC Washington correspondent Katie Simpson unpacks where it’s all coming from.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts