If Republican leader Donald Trump wins the US presidential election in November, it will be a "step backwards" that will make life difficult in Canada, the country's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said.
Trudeau, whose center-left Liberals came to power in November 2015, had a rocky relationship with Trump during his first four-year term in the White House. In 2018, Trump accused Trudeau of being weak and dishonest.
"It wasn't easy the first time and if there's a second time, it won't be easy either," Trudeau said in French during a discussion organized by the Montreal Chamber of Commerce.
He added: "But we can't imagine a day when it's ever going to be easy with the Americans. The primary responsibility of any prime minister is to represent and protect Canada's interests ... we've been able to do that very well over the last few years. "
Canada sends 75% of its exports of goods and services to the US and is particularly vulnerable to any shift in US policy towards protectionism.
When Trump came to power, he vowed to renegotiate the free trade agreement that binds the United States, Canada and Mexico. Ottawa spent almost two years negotiating to create a tripartite pact that largely protects Canadian interests.
About two-thirds of Canadians polled this month said American democracy could not survive another four years of Trump in power, and about half said the United States was on the verge of becoming an authoritarian state, a survey said. posted on January 15th.
"Clearly, there are issues on which I do not agree with Mr. Trump at all," Trudeau said, referring to the climate issue.
The next Canadian election is not due until September 2025, and the Liberals are trailing their centre-right Conservative Party rivals. Trudeau repeated the criticism that the party was inspired by the Trump movement./BGNES
