Buckingham Palace sends clear message to angry Canadians

King Charles' meeting with Justin Trudeau has elicited reaction from a large number of Canadians who are enraged after US President Donald Trump said Canada should become the 51s state of the United States.

The British monarch's meeting with the Canadian prime minister came as Western leaders rallied around Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian president was humiliated by Trump at their Oval Office meeting. 

King Charles was praised by a large number of Canadians in the comments section of the Royal Family's Instagram post which contained the monarch's picture with Trudeau.

Some complained that the king should not have invited Trump to a state visit to his country.

Others thought his meeting with the prime minister might have sent a message to the Trump administration where the monarch stands in the Republican's rift with the Canadian and Ukrainian leaders.

Canadians have canceled trips south of the border, boycotted U.S. alcohol and other products and even booed at sporting events after U.S. President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on most of Canada's goods on Saturday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau immediately announced retaliatory tariffs on C$155 billion ($107 billion) of U.S. goods. Those on C$30 billion will take effect on Tuesday, the same day as most of Trump's tariffs, and duties on the remaining C$125 billion in 21 days, Trudeau said.

Some Facebook groups in Canada are encouraging people to boycott American goods. Some users said they have cancelled Netflix and are trying not to use Amazon.

Trudeau also encouraged Canadians to buy local and vacation in Canada, a sentiment echoed by many local officials.

The positions of Head of State and Head of Government in Canada are held by separate people.

The Prime Minister is the Head of Government, and the Monarch – currently King Charles III – is the Head of State.

The Monarch’s powers and responsibilities are established and limited by the Canadian Constitution and several other laws.