That was the burning question asked on the front page of a Manila newspaper Wednesday morning as the first day of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation leaders’ summit opened.
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“It is clear from the president’s remarks that he is already guiding the prime minister through the TPP door”, said Fen Hampson, head of the global security and politics program at the Centre for worldwide Governance Innovation.
“I know Justin has to agree with what’s happened, but we think that after [the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement] has taken place, Canada, the United States, and the other countries that are here can establish the high-standards agreement that protects labor, protects the environment, protects the kind of high value-added goods and services that we both excel in”, said Obama in one particularly titillating exchange.
Trudeau initially smiled and waved and shook a few hands but the crowd suddenly grew larger and he was soon surrounded by a couple of hundred people taking pictures and shouting his name.
Obama also announced that Trudeau will pay his first visit to Washington, likely early in the new year, “so we can have a more extensive expanded bilateral”.
“We’re confident that he’s going to be able to provide a great boost of energy and reform to the Canadian political landscape”, Obama said.
“There doesn’t have to be a lot of substance at this stage”.
Fellow leaders at both summits were clearly intrigued by how Trudeau had won power by talking of “sunny ways” and respect rather than bashing his opponents. “Whatever people perceive me to be, I owe to him”.
This is particularly true in Asia, home to the fast-developing markets Trudeau wants Canadian firms to exploit and thereby help revive a slumbering domestic economy.
Canada’s new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who gained popularity for his charming personality, viral shirtless photo and charismatic lines such as “We need poets to change the world”, is being pitted against Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who possesses a healthy build, clean look, masculine aura and determined eyes.
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In fact, the Liberal platform during the campaign had promised to “vastly increase the scope of training assistance missions” to stop the spread of terrorism in the Middle East, though the notion of an “expanded” mission rarely left Trudeau’s lips prior to the election. The Ottawa Citizen said his response to the Paris attacks had been tone-deaf. “On substance he’s navigating – one has the sense his footing is perhaps less sure”, said University of Ottawa professor David Dyment.
