Scheer to visit India in October

Six months after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s foreign policy prowess was pummelled by a disorganized state visit to India, his chief opponent is heading to New Delhi to try to “repair and strengthen” Canada-India relations.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer will take his team to India for nine days in October. He has plans to meet with senior government officials, business leaders and civil society and faith leaders.

“Standing with a united India is Canada’s gateway to unprecedented human and economic development, and an essential alliance for Canada to strengthen in the face of shared threats,” Scheer said in a statement.

He also praised India for being the world’s largest democracy and having one of the fastest-growing economies, saying the country “in recent years is transforming into a rising power in the vast Indo-Pacific region and beyond.”

“A Conservative government will dramatically expand the strategic relationship between our countries and our peoples and advance our shared security, prosperity and values. Unfortunately, Justin Trudeau’s disastrous trip to India damaged this key relationship and we must now work to repair it.”

Indeed, Trudeau’s nine-day sojourn to India last February is likely one the Liberals wish they could erase after numerous missteps damaged Trudeau’s reputation both at home and abroad.

The choice to wear high-end Indian fashions while touring Indian landmarks with his family made for some uncomfortable optics, widely distributed via social media, that are sure to resurface as the 2019 election season rolls around, if not sooner.