Time for Trudeau to act his age, show leadership

It’s been a year since U.S. President Barack Obama threw down the gauntlet to Justin Trudeau in his speech to the House of Commons, repeating the slogan that “the world needs more Canada.”

The Brexit vote was only a few days old. And the RNC convention, confirming Donald Trump as the nominee, was still to come. But Obama clearly knew the world was changing.

The outgoing president used his visit to Ottawa to pass the torch to Trudeau, telling him he would bear great responsibilities after Obama left office, becoming the world’s new progressive-in-chief.

How has Trudeau so far lived up to the call? Downright frivolously, if judged by recent headlines.

Both national and international media have spread the word Trudeau wore Ramadan socks to Toronto’s Pride parade over the weekend, and even sported them at a Christian church service kicking off Pride.

Then there’s that over-the-top hugfest he got into with CBC rainbow puppet Gary the Unicorn, which will provide ammo in the online meme wars for years to come.

“Oh boy, I’m going to do what I want to do all the time when I meet people – give them the biggest, squeeziest hug I can,” Trudeau said.

One reason Trudeau was so popular with the electorate in 2015 is his lighter mood contrasted with Stephen Harper’s.

The bigger problem is the serious policy approach he’s projected to the world isn’t all that weighty.

He’s clearly chosen gender equality as his signature issue, having recently unveiled a new feminist development policy that reallocated $150 million in funding.

And shortly after Canada Day, before a G20 conference, he’ll participate in a concert in Hamburg called “Global Citizen,” alongside Coldplay and Shakira.

“The issues we face globally — climate change, poverty, and disease — disproportionately affect women and girls,” Trudeau says, as reported by the Canadian Press. “This is the message I’ll bring with me to Hamburg.”

This would have been brave decades ago. But a Canadian male telling a gathering of Germans, who have elected a woman to lead their country since 2005, that women’s issues are important is the lightest of foreign policy fare.

The problem is, Trudeau doesn’t seem to have much else up his sleeve.

On the occasion of the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, the PM released a statement arguing that “our best response [to terror] is to deepen our resolve to uphold democratic values of pluralism, diversity and inclusiveness.”

Canada can be those things while also combating terror. But isn’t the best response to terrorism actually, you know, fighting terrorism?

While Obama hit all the right progressive notes in his Canadian speech, he did not advocate pacifism. “With Canada’s additional contributions . . . we will destroy the terrorist group ISIL. (Applause.) We will destroy them.”

Obama used that word twice in the House of Commons. Trudeau has never used it.

Canada’s also in the midst of a diplomatic crisis, with the ailing Pastor Hyeon Soo Lim of Mississauga imprisoned in North Korea.

You’d think there are meaningful efforts underway behind the scenes. However, a source close to the situation told me the family has received no such assurances.

France now has the 39-year-old Emmanuel Macron at the helm and Ireland’s new prime minister is the 37-year-old gay biracial Leo Varadkar.

Our 45-year-old prime minister is just one of many middle-aged leaders of a Western nation. It’s time to act that way.