OTTAWA—U.S President Joe Biden is offering glowing praise for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the Canadian leader prepares to step down in the face of bad polls and opposition within his own party.
In a statement released Tuesday morning, the outgoing American president described his warm relationship with Trudeau and lauded him for his leadership since his government took office in 2015, and how they worked together through the COVID-19 pandemic and on joint challenges like climate change and “the scourge” of fentanyl.
“Over the last decade Prime Minister Trudeau has led with commitment, optimism, and strategic vision,” Biden’s statement said.
“The U.S.-Canada alliance is stronger because of him. The American and Canadian people are safer because of him. And the world is better off because of him.
“I am proud to call him my friend. And I will be forever grateful for his partnership and leadership.”
The statement puts into sharp relief how Canada’s relations with the United States are already trending towards a very different course, as incoming president Donald Trump prepares to take power in Washington in less than two weeks. Trump is reprising the aggressive approach to North American trade that he took during his first presidency, with a threat to impose punishing 25-per-cent tariffs on all goods imported to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.
At the same time, Trump has claimed illegal drugs like fentanyl and immigrants entering the U.S. from Canada are spreading crime and disorder, though statistics show far fewer illegal border crossers and drugs are intercepted at the northern border than at the American border with Mexico.
Trump has also repeatedly mocked Canada as the “51st state” of the U.S., including in a post on social media Monday after Trudeau announced he will resign after his Liberal party chooses a new leader.
The return of the Republican populist to power is also expected to increase pressure that already existed on Canada to ramp up its defence spending. Under the Trudeau Liberals, Canada has devoted tens of billions of dollars to the military and defence, but still has no concrete plan to hit its longstanding pledge to the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) to spend at least two per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence.
Biden and Trudeau have had more conventional relations, sharing progressive commitments like efforts to decrease greenhouse gas pollution from fossil fuels that cause the climate crisis. Both leaders have also positioned themselves as staunch supporters of Ukraine in its war with Russia, and for the international institutions that Canada, the U.S. and other western democracies created after the Second World War.
Like Trudeau, Biden stepped down as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate last year, amid concerns over his age — he is 82 — and his performance in a debate with Trump.
In an address to the Canadian parliament when Biden visited Ottawa in March 2023, he spoke of how the “destinies” of the U.S. and Canada are inseparable.
”The United States chooses to link our future with Canada because we know that we’ll find no better partner,” Biden said at the time. “I mean this from the bottom of my heart: no more reliable ally, no more steady friend. And today, I say to you, and to all the people of Canada, that you will always, always be able to count on the United States of America.”
