Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with all opposition leaders on Wednesday to discuss US-Canada relations following threats by US President-elect Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products. A source familiar with the situation said the meeting would take place early Wednesday afternoon. The individual, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the talks are aimed at addressing the escalating tensions over trade. Trudeau successfully navigated a "Team Canada" approach during Trump's first term, working to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). However, Trudeau’s political position has weakened since then, and with an election looming in under a year, the current situation is more precarious. The latest threat came after Trump’s meeting with Trudeau at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Friday. Despite calls for a more cooperative stance, Trump did not back down from his pledge to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico unless they take stronger action to address migration and drug flows. Trump says BRICS countries must commit they’ll not replace US dollar or they’ll face 100% tariffs Trump’s remarks have sparked concern in Canada, which argues that it is being unfairly lumped in with Mexico. With 77% of Canada’s exports destined for the US, the potential tariffs would have a devastating impact on the Canadian economy. The country is one of the most trade-dependent in the world, and much of its daily trade, including crucial energy supplies, flows across the border. Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to Washington, expressed optimism over Trudeau’s efforts to explain that the situation at the Canadian-US border is vastly different from that at the US-Mexico border. While the US has faced significant migrant and drug issues on its southern border, Canada has seen far fewer encounters, particularly with drugs like fentanyl.   Source: With inputs from wires

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19 but is “feeling fine” and will continue to work remotely from home. Trudeau said two of his children have COVID-19 and a test Monday revealed he has been infected as well. The prime minister, who has received two vaccine shots and a booster shot, used a televised virtual news conference to denounce anti-vaccine protesters who filled Canada’s capital to complain about COVID restrictions. Also read: Thousands in Ottawa protest COVID mandates, many rebuked “Canadians were shocked and quite frankly disgusted by the behavior displayed by some people in our nation’s capital,” Trudeau said. “I want to be clear. We are not intimated by those who hurl insults and abuse at small businesses and steal from the homeless. We won’t give in those who fly racist flags. We won’t cave to those who engage in vandalism or dishonor the memory of our veterans.” Some demonstrators travelled in truck convoys and parked on the streets around Parliament Hill, blocking traffic — and a smaller but significant number remained on Monday. Many Canadians were outraged by images over the weekend of some protesters urinating on the National War Memorial and dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, while a number carried signs and flags with swastikas. Many refused to wear masks in hotels, malls and grocery stores and one homeless shelter reported protesters had demanded it feed them. Canada has one of the world’s highest rates of vaccination against the coronavirus — shots that are primarily designed to keep those who become infected from falling seriously ill. Protest organizers have called for the elimination of all COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates and for the removal of Trudeau, though he is responsible for very few of the restrictions, most of which were put in place by provincial governments. Also read: FM Momen, wife test Covid positive The Ottawa police department has said it is investigating possible criminal charges over some actions during the protests. “To those responsible for this behavior, it needs to stop. To anyone who joined the convoy but is rightly uncomfortable with the symbol of hatred and division on display, join with your fellow Canadians, be courageous and speak out. Do not stand for or with intolerance and hate,” Trudeau said. Some were protesting a rule that took effect Jan. 15 requiring truckers entering Canada to be fully immunized against the coronavirus. The United States has imposed the same requirement on truckers entering that country so Canada removing it would make little difference. Some opposition Conservative lawmakers served coffee to the protesters and Conservative party leader Erin O’Toole met with some protesting truckers. The demonstration also attracted support from former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Canadians gave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party a victory in Monday's parliamentary elections, but his gamble to win a majority of seats failed and nearly mirrored the result of two years ago. The Liberals won the most seats of any party. The 49-year-old Trudeau channeled the star power of his father, the Liberal icon and late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, when he first won election in 2015 and has led his party to the top finish in two elections since. Trudeau’s Liberals were leading or elected in 156 seats — one less than they won 2019, and 14 short of the 170 needed for a majority in the House of Commons. The Conservatives were leading or elected in 121 seats, the same number they won in 2019. The leftist New Democrats were leading or elected in 27, a gain of three seats, while the Quebec-based Bloc Québécois remained unchanged with 32 seats and the Greens were down to two. “You are sending us back to work with a clear mandate to get Canada through this pandemic,” Trudeau said. Read: Trudeau criticized for calling Canadian election in 4th wave “I hear you when you say you just want to get back to the things you love and not worry about this pandemic or an election." Trudeau entered the election leading a stable minority government that wasn’t under threat of being toppled. The opposition was relentless in accusing Trudeau of calling an unnecessary early vote — two years before the deadline — for his own personal ambition. “Trudeau lost his gamble to get a majority so I would say this is a bittersweet victory for him,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. “Basically we are back to square one, as the new minority parliament will look like the previous one. Trudeau and the Liberals saved their skin and will stay in power, but many Canadians who didn’t want this late summer, pandemic election are probably not amused about the whole situation,” he said. Trudeau bet Canadians didn’t want a Conservative government during a pandemic. Canada is now among the most fully vaccinated countries in the world and Trudeau’s government spent hundreds of billions of dollars to prop up the economy amid lockdowns. Trudeau argued that the Conservatives’ approach, which has been skeptical of lockdowns and vaccine mandates, would be dangerous and says Canadians need a government that follows science. Conservative leader Erin O’Toole didn’t require his party’s candidates to be vaccinated and would not say how many were unvaccinated. O’Toole described vaccination as a personal health decision, but a growing number of vaccinated Canadians are increasingly upset with those who refuse to get vaccinated. “The debate on vaccination and Trudeau taking on the anti-vaccination crowd helped the Liberals to salvage a campaign that didn’t start well for the party,” Beland said. Trudeau supports making vaccines mandatory for Canadians to travel by air or rail, something the Conservatives oppose. And Trudeau has pointed out that Alberta, run by a Conservative provincial government, is in crisis. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, an ally of O’Toole, said the province might run out of beds and staff for intensive care units within days. Kenney apologized for the dire situation and is now reluctantly introducing a vaccine passport and imposing a mandatory work-from-home order two months after lifting nearly all restrictions. Read:Trudeau denounces truck attack that targeted Muslim family “Hubris led Trudeau to call the election. He and the Liberals won the election but lost the prize they were seeking. This is only a great night for the Liberals because two weeks ago it appeared they would lose government outright something they could not fathom before they gambled on an election,” said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. Wiseman said the Conservatives were hurt by the situation in Alberta. “The explosion of the pandemic in Alberta in the past 10 days undermined O’Toole’s compliments of the Alberta Conservatives on how they had handled the pandemic and reinforced Trudeau’s argument for mandatory vaccinations,” he said. A Conservative win would have represented a rebuke of Trudeau against a politician with a fraction of his name recognition. O’Toole, 47, is a military veteran, former lawyer and a member of Parliament for nine years. “Canadians did not give Mr. Trudeau the majority mandate he wanted,” O’Toole said. O'Toole said he was more determined than ever to continue but his party might dump him after it dumped the previous leader who failed to beat Trudeau in 2019. O’Toole advertised himself a year ago as a “true-blue Conservative.” He became Conservative Party leader with a pledge to “take back Canada,” but immediately started working to push the party toward the political center. O’Toole’s strategy, which included disavowing positions held dear by his party’s base on issues such as climate change, guns and balanced budgets, was designed to appeal to a broader cross section of voters in a country that tends to be far more liberal than its southern neighbor. The son of a long-time politician has faced criticism he will say and do anything to get elected. Whether moderate Canadians believed O’Toole is the progressive conservative he claims to be and whether he alienated traditional Conservatives became central questions of the campaign. Regina Adshade, a 28-year-old Vancouver software developer, said she was bothered that an election was called early, during a pandemic and with wildfires burning in British Columbia. But it didn’t stop her from voting Liberal because the party represents her values. Read: Trudeau looks to Biden for help in dispute with China “I don’t love there was an election right now but it wasn’t going to change my vote,” she said. Trudeau’s legacy includes embracing immigration at a time when the U.S. and other countries closed their doors. He also legalized cannabis nationwide and brought in a carbon tax to fight climate change. And he preserved free trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico amid threats by former U.S. President Donald Trump to scrap the agreement. Former U.S. President Barack Obama and ex-Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton tweeted support for Trudeau. There wasn’t a Trump endorsement of O’Toole. Conservative campaign co-chair Walied Soliman said there is no alignment whatsoever between O’Toole and Trumpism. Soliman said earlier in the day holding Trudeau to a minority government would be a win for O'Toole. Liberals governed Canada for 69 years during the 20th century. Pierre Trudeau called for a “just society” and ran the country with a panache not seen before from a Canadian leader. He is responsible for Canada’s version of the bill of rights and is credited with opening the door wide to immigration. Trudeau's Liberals dominated in Toronto, Canada's largest city and one of the most multicultural cities in the world.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his decision to call an election during the pandemic in first debate of the campaign for this month’s election. Trudeau is facing a tough re-election battle against his Conservative Party rival, Erin O’Toole. The vote is Sept. 20. “Why did you trigger an election in the middle of a fourth wave?” O’Toole asked Trudeau at the French-language debate in Montreal. Also read: Trudeau announces additional fund for medical research on COVID-19 Trudeau said he needs a mandate from voters. “Almost 80 percent of Canadians have done the right thing, they got vaccinated, twice in fact,” said Trudeau, noting Canada is having a fourth wave because 20 percent are unvaccinated. “And because of them we have to stop democracy from working? No,” Trudeau said. He criticized O’Toole for not requiring his candidates to be vaccinated. O’Toole said he believes the country can find reasonable accommodations for those who are unvaccinated, like rapid testing and social distancing. Four provinces including Quebec and Ontario, Canada’s largest, are bringing in vaccine passports that require citizens to be vaccinated to enter places like restaurants and gyms. Also read: Trudeau says Canada won't retaliate for US mask export ban Trudeau called the election last month seeking to win the majority of seats in Parliament but polls show that is unlikely and that he might even lose power to O’Toole and the Conservative party. Trudeau had wanted to capitalize on the fact that Canada is now one of the most fully vaccinated countries in the world, but the country is now in a fourth wave driven by the delta variant. Daniel Beland, a politics professor at McGill University in Montreal, said Trudeau held his ground. “His combative performance might help stop the bleeding for the Liberals or, at least, reassure his base that he still has fire in his belly,” Beland said. The 49-year-old Trudeau, the son of the late Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, became the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history when he was first elected with a majority of seats in Parliament in 2015. He reasserted liberalism in 2015 after almost 10 years of Conservative Party government in Canada, but scandals combined with high expectations damaged his brand. His father served as prime minister from 1968 to 1984 with a short interruption and remains one of the few Canadian politicians known in other countries.

A pickup truck attack that killed four members of an immigrant family has shaken Canada, a country where immigrants are largely accepted, and drew denunciations Tuesday from Canada’s prime minister, who called it a hate crime directed at Muslims. The victims — two parents, two children and a grandmother — were on an evening walk when the driver of the truck struck them at an intersection in London, Ontario. The sole survivor was a 9-year-old boy, who was hospitalized. “This was a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred, in the heart of one of our communities,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament. “If anyone thinks racism and hatred don’t exist in this country, I want to say this: How do we explain such violence to a child in a hospital? How can we look families in the eye and say “Islamophobia isn’t real”? Read:Canadian police say Muslim family targeted by deadly attack The victims’ extended family issued a statement identifying the dead as Salman Afzal, 46; his wife Madiha, 44; their daughter Yumna, 15; and a 74-year-old grandmother whose name was withheld. The hospitalized boy was identified as the couple’s son, Fayez. Friends said the family immigrated to Canada 14 years ago. Many Canadians have been enjoying evening walks to get fresh air after long days at home during the pandemic, Trudeau said. “But unlike every other night, this family never made it home,” Trudeau said. “Their lives were taken in a brutal, cowardly and brazen act of violence. This killing was no accident. ... Canadians are outraged by what happened on Sunday. And many Muslim Canadians are scared.” Trudeau said words matter and in part blamed rhetoric, disinformation and extremism online and in politics. “They can be a seed that grows into an ugly, pervasive trend. And sometimes, they lead to real violence,” the prime minister said. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Twitter that the attack revealed the growing Islamophobia in Western countries. A 20-year-old suspect, Nathaniel Veltman, was arrested in the parking lot of a nearby mall. He was facing four counts of first-degree murder. Police were inside the suspect’s London apartment on Tuesday. Read:Canada lowers flags after discovery of bodies at school site Police said Veltman did not know the victims. Detective Supt. Paul Waight said it was not clear if he belonged to any specific hate group, but that local police were working with federal authorities to investigate potential terrorism charges. He said the attack was planned. Veltman worked part time at an egg farm in nearby Strathroy, Ontario. The chief executive of Gray Ridge Eggs Inc., William Gray, gave no details about Veltman’s job. He said the company was “shocked and saddened” by the attack, and he expressed sympathy for the victims’ relatives and the Muslim community. Arman Moradpourian, a friend who worked with Veltman, called Veltman a very devout Christian and said he was home schooled. Moradpourian said Veltman didn’t have a problem with him being Persian and raised Muslim. “He never judged me,” Moradpourian told The Associated Press. “He would give his shirt off his back for you.” Moradpourian said Veltman helped him with rides to grocery stores and helped him mediate family issues. He said Veltman deleted his social media years ago and remade it a few months ago. He said he used the same name but said it was deactivated after he was arrested. He said Veltman was into video games and fishing. Everyone who knew the Afzal family knew “the model family they were as Muslims, Canadians and Pakistanis,” the statement from the extended family said. “They worked extremely hard in their fields and excelled. Their children were top students in their school and connected strongly with their spiritual identity.” A fundraising webpage said the father was a physiotherapist and cricket enthusiast and his wife was working on a doctorate in civil engineering at Western University in London. Their daughter was finishing ninth grade, and the grandmother was a “pillar” of the family, the page said. Read:More than 200 bodies found at Indigenous school in Canada Thousands of mourners including Trudeau and the leaders of all of Canada’s political parties attended a vigil Tuesday night at the mosque the family attended. Pandemic restrictions were eased to allow mourners to attend the outdoor vigil. “There are no words that can ease the grief of having three generations murdered in their neighborhood,” Trudeau told the crowd. “There are no words that can undo the pain and yes the anger of this community. There are no words that can fix the future of that little boy who has had his future taken away. But know this: You are not alone. All Canadians mourn with you and stand with you.” Imam Abd Alfatah Twakkal of the London Muslim Mosque said he hoped the vigil would be a pivotal moment for his community and country in the fight against the scourge of racism and discrimination. “Every single one of us need to do our part,” he said. Rauf Ahmad and three friends earlier watched the growing tribute at the intersection in the day. “I didn’t think there was racism in Canada, and I felt very safe when I came here two years ago, but I do not feel safe now,” Ahmad said. “Humanity is first. We should not care about whether someone is a Muslim, a Jew or a Christian.” Near the crash scene, Zahid Khan, a family friend, said through tears: “They were just out for their walk that they would go out for every day. I just wanted to see.” Read:US tribe shares vaccine with relatives, neighbors in Canada Mayor Ed Holder said flags would be lowered for three days in London, which he said has 30,000 to 40,000 Muslims among its more than 400,000 residents. Canada is generally welcoming toward immigrants and all religions, but in 2017 a French Canadian man known for far-right, nationalist views went on a shooting rampage at a Quebec City mosque that killed six people. “Canada is not immune to the kind of intolerance and division we have seen elsewhere in the world,” Trudeau said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked Sunday that flags at all federal buildings be flown at half-staff to honor more than 200 children whose remains have been found buried at what was once Canada’s largest Indigenous residential school — one of the institutions that held children taken from families across the nation. The Peace Tower flag on Parliament Hill in the nation’s capital of Ottawa was among those lowered to half-staff. “To honor the 215 children whose lives were taken at the former Kamloops residential school and all Indigenous children who never made it home, the survivors, and their families, I have asked that the Peace Tower and all federal buildings be flown at half-mast,” Trudeau tweeted. Read: More than 200 bodies found at Indigenous school in Canada Mayors of communities across Ontario, including Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga and Brampton, also ordered flags lowered to honor the children. Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia said the remains of 215 children, some as young as 3 years old, were confirmed last weekend with the help of ground-penetrating radar. She described the discovery as “an unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never documented at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.″ From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 First Nations children were required to attend state-funded Christian schools as part of a program to assimilate them into Canadian society. They were forced to convert to Christianity and not allowed to speak their native languages. Many were beaten and verbally abused, and up to 6,000 are said to have died. The Canadian government apologized in Parliament in 2008 and admitted that physical and sexual abuse in the schools was rampant. Many students recalled being beaten for speaking their native languages. They also lost touch with their parents and customs. Indigenous leaders have cited that legacy of abuse and isolation as the root cause of epidemic rates of alcoholism and drug addiction on reservations. Plans are underway to bring in forensics experts to identify and repatriate the remains of the children found buried on the site. The Kamloops school operated between 1890 and 1969, when the federal government took over operations from the Catholic Church and operated it as a day school until it closed in 1978. Read: US tribe shares vaccine with relatives, neighbors in Canada The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission has records of at least 51 children dying at the school between 1915 and 1963. Perry Bellegarde, chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said while it is not new to find graves at former residential schools, it’s always crushing to have that chapter’s wounds exposed. The chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, R. Stacey LaForme, wrote Trudeau on Saturday to ask the government to lower the flags and declare a national day of mourning. “There is a lot more to be done but first and foremost, we need to do this to show love and respect to the 215 children, all of the children, and their families,” LaForme said in a statement. “This should be a moment that the country never forgets.” Sol Mamakwa, an Indigenous opposition legislator who represents the Ontario riding of Kiiwetinoong, called on the province and Canadian government to work with all First Nations to look for remains at other defunct residential schools. “It is a great open secret that our children lie on the properties of the former schools — an open secret that Canadians can no longer look away from,” Mamakwa said. “In keeping with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Missing Children Projects, every school site must be searched for the graves of our ancestors.” Read: Canada pauses AstraZeneca vaccine for under 55 Toronto Mayor John Tory said city flags would stay lowered for nine days — 215 hours — to represent each life. “This sad story is shocking but not surprising to students of history, I don’t think we know yet when these deaths occurred,” said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. “Canada of yesteryear is not the Canada of today,″ he said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s vision became a reality as the founding father of Bangladesh put his people first.

Mexico is trying to sell its luxurious presidential jet to Canada, but will raffle the plane off if the Canadians don't want it, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday evidence indicates an Iranian missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner late Tuesday and that the strike "may have been unintentional."

Toronto, Oct 22 (AP/UNB) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was set to win a second term in Canada's national elections Monday, losing the majority but delivering unexpectedly strong results despite having been weakened by a series of scandals that tarnished his image as a liberal icon.