Peter Navarro, a senior counselor for trade and manufacturing for the Trump administration, may want Canada to be ousted from the Five Eyes intelligence agency over its resistance to President Trump’s tarrif plan, though he later dismissed the idea to reporters.
The idea to oust Canada from the intelligence network was first reported by the Financial Times, as people familiar with Navarro’s efforts in the Trump administration said.
Navarro slammed the piece to reporters, noting that the Financial Times reported its story without naming its sources.
“My view is that we should never have to comment on any story where it’s based on unnamed sources,” he said, adding, “We would never, ever jeopardize our national security, ever, with allies like Canada, ever.”
The conversations come as Trump has insisted that he wants to make Canada the 51st state of America. Canadian officials have repeatedly stated that they will not be joining the U.S. and tensions between the two countries worsened as the president plans to implement his tariff plan.
Trump, as one of his first actions back in office, implemented a 20 percent tariff of Canadian goods. There were major concerns that it would hurt ties with the U.S.’s closest ally and neighbor and increase the cost of goods for Americans, including steel and aluminum.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump came to an agreement to temporarily pause the tariffs in exchange for support on the adjoining border to curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
People familiar with the situation said Navarro, a close Trump ally, thinks that the U.S. should be increasing pressure on Canada by removing it from the Five Eyes, the Financial Times reported.
It’s not known if Trump has heard the idea or agrees with it.
The Five Eyes is an alliance between the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The countries share intelligence with one another to promote national security.
One Five Eyes official told the Financial Times that removing Canada from the alliance would be very dangerous in a heightened threat environment.
Navarro dismissed the notion on Tuesday, telling reporters that he has proposed that people don’t “pay any attention” to stories from anonymous sources.
“That’s all I got to say,” Navarro said. “We’ll talk, maybe later today.”
