Canada's Former Leader Celebrates 91st Birthday By Slamming Trump's 'Unacceptable Insults'

Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien went after Trump's "unprecedented threats" in a message sent from "one old guy to another."

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s remarks that Canada should become the 51st state drew condemnation and a patriotic outburst on Saturday from a former Canadian prime minister who offered blunt advice to the incoming U.S. leader: “Give your head a shake!”

Jean Chrétien, who was Canada’s prime minister from 1993 to 2003, joined a chorus of officials from the northern U.S. neighbor who say Trump’s remarks are no longer a joke and may undermine America’s closest ally.

Canada would never agree to become part of the United States, Chrétien wrote in an article published in The Globe and Mail newspaper, celebrating his 91st birthday.

He extolled his nation’s love of independence and said Trump’s remarks amounted to “totally unacceptable insults and unprecedented threats” to Canadian sovereignty.

“To Donald Trump, from one old guy to another, give your head a shake!” Chrétien said. “What could make you think that Canadians would ever give up the best country in the world — and make no mistake that is what we are — to join the United States?