Mark Carney pledged Canada will never become part of the US as he used his inauguration address to take a swipe at Donald Trump.

The former Bank of England governor was sworn in as the country’s new prime minister on Friday after a landslide win in the Liberal leadership race following Justin Trudeau’s resignation.

Mr Carney, who does not have a seat in the Canadian House of Commons, used his first address as the Canadian leader to hit back at Mr Trump’s continued suggestion that the country should be absorbed as America’s 51st state.

He said such talk was “crazy,” adding: “We will never, ever –in any way, shape or form – be part of the United States. America is not Canada.”

The Liberal Party leader, who is the first Canadian prime minister to have never held elected office, said Canada is “fundamentally” different from the US.