WATCH ABOVE: Justin Trudeau says the relationship between the two countries needs a reboot to repair the damage done by Stephen Harper.
OTTAWA – Justin Trudeau is accusing Stephen Harper of flubbing Canada’s most important diplomatic relationship – with the United States.
The Liberal leader says after almost a decade of Harper as prime minister, Canada has less influence in Washington.
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He attributes that to belligerence and hyper-partisanship that Trudeau says renders the prime minister unable to work with people who don’t share his ideology, like President Barack Obama.
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Trudeau also says Harper has taken a “churlish” approach to Mexico, failing to recognize that Mexico is now an equal or greater strategic preoccupation in Washington than Canada.
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He notes that the Harper government imposed visa requirements on Mexicans and cancelled a trilateral summit with the leaders of the U.S and Mexico last winter.
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Trudeau says he’d remove those visa restrictions and reschedule the summit.
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