Voters in the United States will likely face a choice in the November presidential election between optimism for the future, or nostalgia for a past that never existed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
And while a second Donald Trump presidency B次元官网网址渨onB次元官网网址檛 be easy,B次元官网网址� Trudeau told a Montreal business audience, the federal government is prepared for that possibility.
Trudeau made the comments a day after Trump handily won the Iowa Republican caucuses, with about 51 per cent of the vote, a result that gave the former president an early lead for the Republican nomination ahead of the countryB次元官网网址檚 November election.
B次元官网网址淒o they want to be a nation that is optimistic and committed to the future? Or will they choose a step backwards, nostalgia for a time that never existed, a populism that reflects a lot the anxiety and fury that people are going through without necessarily offering solutions?B次元官网网址� Trudeau said in response to a question at a breakfast event hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.
There are many issues on which Trudeau said he disagrees with the one-term former U.S. president, who was elected in 2016 and defeated four years later by Joe Biden. But the prime minister said he was able to successfully defend CanadaB次元官网网址檚 interests through TrumpB次元官网网址檚 mandate, including during the negotiation of the United StatesB次元官网网址揗exicoB次元官网网址揅anada agreement and a dispute over CanadaB次元官网网址檚 aluminum exports to the U.S.
B次元官网网址淚t was not easy the first time, IB次元官网网址檒l tell you that and if thereB次元官网网址檚 a second time, it wonB次元官网网址檛 be easy either,B次元官网网址� Trudeau said.
But the prime minister said working with the U.S. always comes with challenges and that there were trade disputes during the Barack Obama and Biden administrations related to things like softwood lumber and electric vehicles.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 always a big challenge to work with any American president, even those like Barack and Joe, with whom I have a lot in common,B次元官网网址� Trudeau said.
The Republican nomination battle officially became a three-horse race Tuesday when last-place challenger Asa Hutchinson, the former Arkansas governor, formally suspended his moribund campaign. That followed the withdrawal Monday of Trump-adjacent, distant-fourth finisher Vivek Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur whose bid included a straight-faced proposal to build a wall along the Canada-U.S. border.
The win for Trump and his B次元官网网址淢ake America Great AgainB次元官网网址� political movement in Iowa is largely inconsequential in the grander battle for the presidential nomination, but incontrovertible proof of his stranglehold on the Republican party.
Trudeau said the choice facing Americans is similar to one facing voters in Europe and other parts of the world that are experiencing democratic backsliding and waning support for democracy. Canada isnB次元官网网址檛 immune from those trends, Trudeau said, casting himself as a defender of optimism and stability, in opposition to anger, fear and conspiracy theories.
B次元官网网址淚n two years here in Canada, weB次元官网网址檒l have a similar choice,B次元官网网址� Trudeau said. B次元官网网址淒o we move forward, to defend democracy, our principles, do we continue to fight climate change, defend individual rights, defend minorities, or do we go backwards because weB次元官网网址檙e too angry about everything thatB次元官网网址檚 going on in the world around us?B次元官网网址�
The next federal election must take place on or before Oct. 20, 2025. Recent polls have suggested Pierre PoilievreB次元官网网址檚 Conservatives would win a majority government if the vote was held now.
Trudeau did not take questions from reporters after speaking at the chamber of commerce event.
