Canada’s Trudeau shifts message
OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau swept to power in Canada as, among other things, a pro-trade feminist pledging an influx of refugees and a renewed global agenda.
Now, with voter unrest upending the Western world and Donald Trump days away from power, the prime minister is changing tack.
Trudeau has quietly and steadily refined his approach since the U.S. presidentelect’s win. High-profile moves include changing his top diplomat — replacing a climate wonk with a star trade minister and one-time New Yorker — while pivoting inward by canceling a trip to Davos for a rural Canadian junket privately referred to by staff as his “cowbell tour.”
The 45-year-old leader hailed recently by outgoing Vice President Joe Biden as one of the last global icons of liberalism is, in effect, bracing for the Trump era by playing nice and moving to quell any populist waves at home. While Trudeau’s core values of pluralism remain, his course correction is a signal Trump’s influence continues to ripple far beyond Washington.
“We know we can’t take rural areas for granted,” Trudeau said last week sporting a large belt buckle, casual pants and rolled-up sleeves at a town-hall session in Belleville, Ontario — a world away from the Swiss Alps. He acknowledged the fears of voters worldwide that have fueled protectionist movements. “It becomes easy to want to close off from the world.”
Trump is taking power as Trudeau’s honeymoon fades. The Liberal prime minister’s popularity hit a 12-month low this week as he faces questions about fundraisers with wealthy Chinese donors and an investigation by the ethics commissioner into a holiday vacation to a Bahamian island owned by the Aga Khan, a family friend. The controversies fueled partisan attacks that the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is out of touch with average Canadians. And it was in the shadow of those critiques that he started his tour.
Meanwhile, top Trudeau aides — Principal Secretary Gerald Butts and Chief of Staff Katie Telford, plus lawmaker Chrystia Freeland — have been meeting with senior Trump officials including Stephen Bannon and Jared Kushner, the president-elect’s son-in-law. Trudeau has since promoted Freeland to foreign minister and reached out to the Canadian architects of the North American Free Trade Agreement, staking out common ground with Trump by repeatedly emphasizing his middle-class agenda.
“It’s fair to say there are red lights flashing in corporate and government offices across the country,” said Roland Paris, a University of Ottawa professor and former foreign policy adviser to Trudeau. “I think there’s also a sense of hopefulness because Canada hasn’t been targeted specifically for criticism, and because Canada doesn’t fit the profile of countries Mr. Trump has criticized for allegedly stealing U.S. jobs.”