Trudeau confident in ‘progressive approach’

PM says he refuses to exploit anxieties over global affairs

OTTAWA— Justin Trudeau sees dark clouds on the political horizon: severe weather and income inequality begetting forced migration and a growing strain to feed the dispossessed, as well as the ever-present threats of terrorism and nuclear annihilation.

But halfway through his mandate, the prime minister remains steadfastly confident that the agenda that won him power in 2015 — his “progressive approach” to global affairs, income disparity, globalization angst and populism — will be enough to carry Canadians to a brighter future.

Politicians, says Trudeau, have two options. They can exploit that public angst for political gain, or do what he says his government has done: give tangible benefits to working people, while taxing the wealthy and making them remember the people who work for them.

“That’s the choice to be made,” Trudeau said this week in an interview.

“When people are anxious, are you amplifying that anxiety or are you allaying that anxiety with reasonable policy choices that are showing there is a reason for confidence in one’s kids future. That’s very much the latter path we chose to take in the 2015 election and I continue to choose.”

Canada, Trudeau said, is “bucking the trend in terms of globalization as a source of anxiety for citizens” by being “absolutely unequivocal” that global trade has to benefit everyone.

And while he’s sharpened his digs at the opposition and beefed up his economic arguments since the 2015 campaign, he said the policies he laid out during that election remain relevant and active, even as he braces for the stormy ride he knows is coming from his opponents at home.