Trudeau eyes economic progress, backs feds’ mid-mandate record
PM takes on broken vows, campaign goals, U.S. ties in wide-ranging conference
OTTAWA— As he heads into a summer of glad-handing and hosting Canada 150 celebrations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set his eyes squarely on mid- to long-term economic progress with the government’s trade, climate change and defence agenda stalled in the face of an unpredictable U.S. partner.
In a wide-ranging news conference in the National Press Theatre, his first in six months, Trudeau said he is looking at longer “trend lines” and predicted job creation and economic growth as well as progress for Indigenous communities.
Trudeau defended his government’s record as it nears its midmandate point, saying many of his campaign goals, such as boosting infrastructure and public transit, or promoting innovation as Canadian industries reach for broader markets, would take time or more willingness or “capacity” on the part of others to realize.
“We understand that a lot of what we are investing in for communities, for Canadians, is going to take a while,” he said.
He was defiant over a number of broken commitments, including a promise to cap the deficit at $10 billion a year, offering no date for when his government would achieve a balanced budget. He said he campaigned on making “investments,” not on “balancing the books arbitrarily and at all costs.”
Trudeau blamed the previous Conservative government for failing to leave a balanced budget as promised. He said that left the Liberals with an $18-billion hole as they went ahead with the spending of their own they had pledged.
On his broken vow to reform the way Canadians vote, a signature pledge during the last election, Trudeau said he had been “hopeful” change was possible and had preferred a ranked ballot where people would mark first, second and third choices. But he placed blame for this at the feet of the opposition parties, saying the Conservatives wanted the status quo no matter what. Proportional representation, as advocated by New Democrats, would not be in the country’s interest, he added.
“I think creating fragmentation amongst political parties as opposed to having larger political parties that include Canada’s diversity within them would weaken our country.”
Trudeau was unapologetic about rejecting a national referendum on electoral reform as divisive. “So, it was a very difficult decision for me to make the determination that, even given my own hopes that we would be able to move forward on reforming the electoral system, there was no path to do that.
“There was no openness to compromise in the other parties and I wasn’t going to use my majority to bring in a system just to tick off a box on an election platform.”
As for immediate challenges on the international front, Trudeau said his government had expected the Trump administration’s move Monday to add more duties onto Canadian softwood lumber exporters.
He said $867 million in federal aid already announced for the Canadian industry had included those calculations. Trudeau predicted Canada would ultimately win the fight to reject the new duties. He said his government would look to resolve the dispute at the negotiating table, under a new softwood agreement, and not engage in punitive trade measures against the U.S.
Trudeau cast his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump and between officials at various levels of the Canadian and American governments as “positive and constructive.” He dismissed suggestions that his government, with its targeted outreach to U.S. business leaders, politicians and congressional representatives, was attempting to go around the White House.
However, It is clear Trudeau is attempting to walk a fine line with Trump’s team on the global stage, where Trudeau’s vow to fight climate change is at odds with the president’s vow to withdraw from the Paris accord to reduce global greenhouse gases. Trudeau’s aides had complained about inaccuracies in a report by Der Spiegel magazine that Trudeau asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel to drop a reference to the Paris accord in a draft communiqué for next week’s G20 summit in Hamburg.
On Tuesday, Trudeau appeared to confirm he had intervened to ensure a consensus would be achievable.
“I told her what it turned out President Trump had also said in public, that he was still interested in looking forward on moving clean energy, on environmental issues, but not within (the) Paris (accord). And I impressed upon her the importance of making sure that we all stood together, including in the communiqué moving forward.”