King Charles to outline Mark Carney's priorities in Canada's Parliament amid Trump annexation threat

Ottawa | King Charles III will outline new Prime Minister Mark Carney's government priorities in a speech in the Canadian Parliament on Tuesday. It's widely viewed as a show of support in the face of annexation threats by US President Donald Trump.

Trump's repeated suggestion that the US annex Canada prompted Prime Minister Carney to invite Charles to give the speech from the throne. The king is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.

Carney said in a statement the visit speaks to the “vitality of our constitutional monarchy and our distinct identity.” It is rare for the monarch to deliver what's called the speech from the throne in Canada. Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did it twice in her 70-year reign, the last time in 1977.

The speech is not written by the king or his UK advisers as Charles serves as a nonpartisan head of state. He will read what is put before him by Canada's government.

Carney , the new prime minister and a former head of the Bank of England, and Canada's first Indigenous governor general, Mary Simon, the king's representative in Canada, met with the king on Monday.

Canadians are largely indifferent to the monarchy, but Carney has been eager to show the differences between Canada and the United States. The king's visit clearly underscores Canada's sovereignty, he said.