Canadians rally behind PM Trudeau
MONTREAL: Canadians have had enough.
It takes a lot to rile people in this decidedly courteous nation. But after President Donald Trump’s parting shots against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the day he left the Group of 7 summit meeting in Quebec, the country reacted with uncharacteristic outrage and defiance at a best friend’s nastiness.
“It was extremely undiplomatic and antagonistic,” Frank McKenna, a former Canadian ambassador to the United States, wrote in an email. “It was disrespectful and ill informed.”
“All Canadians will support the prime minister in standing up to this bully,” he added. “Friends do not treat friends with such contempt.”
Even Mr Trudeau’s political foes rose to his defence. “We will stand shoulder to shoulder with the prime minister and the people of Canada,” Doug Ford, the Trump-like renegade recently elected premier of Ontario.
Stephen Harper, the former Conservative prime minister whom Mr Trudeau beat to become prime minister, said Mr Trump had made a mistake targeting trade relations with Canada. “I can understand why the American people feel they need some better trade relationships,” he said. But, he added, “this is the wrong target”.
The ink had barely dried on the communiqué after the G-7 summit meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec, when Mr Trump berated Mr Trudeau on Twitter from Air Force One, accusing him of being “very dishonest and weak” and of making up “false statements”.
Mr Trump’s ire appears to have been spurred after Mr Trudeau said Canada would retaliate against US tariffs on steel and aluminum products, calling them “kind of insulting” and saying that Canadians “are nice” but “we will not be pushed around”. These were strong words from the telegenic, soft-spoken leader. But Canadian officials said they were perplexed by Mr Trump’s reaction since nothing Mr Trudeau said was new.
The Twitter tirade t hreatened t o inflame anger towards the president, whose anti-immigrant stances and climate change skepticism infuriated many Canadians who pride themselves on openness and social responsibility.