US presidential election: Canadian PM Trudeau warns of tough times if Donald Trump wins, says, ‘it will be a step back' | Mint – Mint
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on January 17 said it would be “a step back” if Republican frontrunner Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November which would make life tough for Canada, reported Reuters.
While addressing a discussion hosted by the Montreal Chamber of Commerce, Justin Trudeau said in French, “It wasn’t easy the first time and if there is a second time, it won’t be easy either,” reported Reuters.
Also read: Canada to set a cap on international students amid housing crisis, fix ‘out of control’ system
Justin Trudeau also mentioned that if Donald Trump rose to power following the upcoming elections it would not be easy for Americans, He said, “But we can’t imagine a day when it will ever be easy with the Americans. ” Justin Trudeau said, “A Trump win would be “a step back” and a victory for a populism that reflects a lot of anguish and fury … without necessarily providing solutions”.
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He further said that the main responsibility of any prime minister is to represent and defend Canada’s interests and that Canada has been able to perform these responsibilities very well over the past few years.
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Justin Trudeau’s center-left Liberals rose to power in November 2015. These liberals had tense relations with former US President Donald Trump during Justin Trudeau’s first four-year White House term. Donald Trump had accused Trudeau of being weak and dishonest in 2018.
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Canada is vulnerable to any United States’ shift toward protectionism as it sends 75% of its goods and services exports to the US. Donald Trump had vowed to renegotiate the free trade treaty that bound the United States—Canada and Mexico, when he came to power. Canada spent almost two years locked in talks to produce a trilateral pact that largely protected Canadian interests.
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Recent polls released on Monday that surveyed Canadians surveyed revealed that about two-thirds of Canadians believed that US democracy cannot survive another four years of Trump in power. Around half of the Canadians said the United States is on the way to becoming an authoritarian state.
Justin Trudeau said during “the lost four years” of his first term, Trump showed little interest in the environment while the Liberals prioritized ‘fighting climate change’. Over the climate question, Justin Trudeau said, “There are clearly issues where I do not agree at all with Mr. Trump,” reported Reuters.
Canada is considering measures to cap the number of international students in the coming months as the country deals with a housing crisis.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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