LILLEY: Justin Trudeau, the man from nowhere on the international stage

Article content

If Canada attends a world summit these days, does anyone notice?

Article content

Well, in Rome they only realized Canada was there for the G20 because Justin Trudeau and his British counterpart Boris Johnson were late for the family photo.

Trudeau is on a week-long excursion through Europe with an official visit to the Netherlands, a G20 meeting in Rome, and then leaves to attend the UN climate conference that begins Monday in Glasgow, Scotland.

For the international media and other world leaders attending the G20, it is as if Canada is not even there.

Ahead of this week’s international foray, Trudeau and his cabinet tried to spread the message that, as a country, Canada outweighs its weight. That is something that may have been true in the past, but is not true now.

Under Justin Trudeau, Canada has become the international Nowhere Man.

Article content

Trudeau is the second oldest leader in the G7 after outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but unlike predecessors such as Jean Chretien, Brian Mulroney, Stephen Harper or even his father Pierre Trudeau, the views of Trudeau, the younger, do not they are in high demand. Canada, always a middle power and always striving for attention, has at least been able to find ways to raise its profile in the past, but that’s not the case with Trudeau.

To give an example of Trudeau’s inability to move the needle in international affairs, US President Joe Biden just announced Thursday that he will continue to back a protectionist measure that will hurt Canada’s auto industry. The proposal, which is part of Biden’s budget plan, will offer rebates of up to $ 12,500 for US-assembled electric vehicles with at least 50% US parts and a US-made battery.

Article content

“The protective damage from this action could exceed any damage that Donald Trump has thrown at us,” Flavio Volpe said in a recent interview.

Volpe, president of the Association of Automotive Parts Manufacturers, worries that this will lead to Canada losing future auto investments.

Even though Trudeau is a liberal leader with a Democrat in the White House, he has not been able to change Biden’s mind. The idea that these two leaders are aligned and that Biden would help Canada now proves false.

“The Prime Minister has to look beyond that, get there and get his hands dirty working with the Americans and say, ‘This is wrong,'” Brian Mulroney said in an interview that aired on CTV’s Question Period on Sunday.

Mulroney, the prime minister behind the Canada-US free trade agreement and who led the world in imposing sanctions on South Africa for apartheid, would know a thing or two about how to do things on the international stage. Trudeau should be listening to people like him, but it’s doubtful that he will.

Article content

While liberals may say Mulroney is an old conservative, Trudeau has been shown to not listen to old liberals either. Jean Chretien has stated in interviews and written in his new book, My stories, my times, that Trudeau does not seek advice from people like him.

Trudeau has three former prime ministers with significant international political experience: Mulroney, Chretien and Harper, all of whom, if asked, would go to any lengths to help their country. But Trudeau does not ask, does not seek advice, just as other world leaders do not seek his advice.

Mulroney led acid rain, free trade, and apartheid. Chretien led the UN peacekeeping, bringing peace to the former Yugoslavia, and expanding Canada’s international trade. Harper led the 2009 economic recovery when, along with Jim Flaherty and Mark Carney, he headed the international economic recovery committees, led the pushback after Russia invaded Crimea, and dramatically expanded the number of free trade agreements Canada signed.

Trudeau has taken nothing beyond fawning over stories in foreign media, which have now dried up.

Under Trudeau, Canada has become the tree that falls in the forest with no one around to listen.

[email protected]