Trump says idea of him interfering with Canadians speaking French is a 'stupid thing'
Just days away from the launch of Quebec's provincial election, U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at the idea that the U.S. was encroaching on Canadians' French culture during the latest round of trade negotiations.
Trump says he loves French Canadians in latest social media post
CBC News
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Just days away from the launch of Quebec's provincial election, U.S. President Donald Trump said the idea of him interfering with Canadians speaking French is a "stupid thing," in a post to his Truth Social account on Tuesday morning.
The president is referring to one of the reasons cited for the last-minute breakdown of trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada last Friday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said some of the demands made by the U.S. would have threatened the French language by undermining subsidies to French-language media and the requirement for bilingual product labelling.
During an announcement in Lévis, Que., on Monday, Carney clarified that the issue of discoverability of French-Canadian content on streaming platforms was considered an "irritant" by the American negotiators.
In his social media post, Trump said he has never even thought of interfering with Canadians speaking French.
"This lie was made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support, which he has totally lost, from the people of Quebec," he wrote, adding that he loves French Canadians.
Last year, the Quebec government introduced Bill 109, titled "An Act to affirm the cultural sovereignty of Québec and to enact the Act respecting the discoverability of French-language cultural content in the digital environment.” The bill forces streaming giants to add French-language content and make it more easily accessible to users.
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