Western Standard - September 14, 2023


Trudeau’s latest trip overseas was just the latest in a long line of failures. #canadapm


Episode Stats

Length

4 minutes

Words per Minute

187.12274

Word Count

868

Sentence Count

40


Summary

Justin Trudeau's plane carrying his own Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, crashed in India on his way to a G20 summit, leaving him stranded in the country for two more days. What does it mean for Canada's international reputation?


Transcript

00:00:00.800 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's trip to India for the G20 summit mercifully came to an end.
00:00:06.160 Oh, except it didn't.
00:00:07.860 To add insult to injury, the political gods decided to have Trudeau's plane breaking down
00:00:12.700 to leave him stranded in India for two more days.
00:00:15.480 If years of Trudeau's inept diplomacy weren't enough to convince the world of Canada's
00:00:19.960 irrelevance on the world stage, the nation's inability to get its own Prime Minister back
00:00:25.120 to Canada drove the point home.
00:00:26.780 No, Trudeau isn't personally responsible for the upkeep of the airplanes when it crashed
00:00:31.100 years ago if that was the case.
00:00:32.500 But the confusion caused when the plane broke down showed how Canada just isn't a nation
00:00:37.740 to be taken seriously anymore.
00:00:39.760 I mean, how many developed nations would find themselves utterly crippled for days trying
00:00:43.880 to find alternative transportation for their leader in the case of a malfunction on a plane?
00:00:49.900 Now, Justin Trudeau, he's long had a cold relationship with India's Prime Minister Modi.
00:00:55.100 He was snubbed by Modi during his catastrophic 2018 trip to India where he made international
00:01:00.720 headlines with his ridiculous dress-up games, and he got a frosty reception from Modi during
00:01:05.980 this latest trip.
00:01:07.420 After much arm-bending, Trudeau did manage to get a 10-minute informal pull-aside meeting
00:01:12.080 with Modi.
00:01:13.180 He then used that time to lecture Modi on foreign interference.
00:01:16.620 In other words, he wasted Modi's time on an issue that really isn't pressing to him right
00:01:20.680 Now, for a reason yet to be disclosed, Canada just paused negotiations with India on trade
00:01:26.260 negotiations, giving India a figurative middle finger just days before a world summit they
00:01:31.000 were hosting.
00:01:31.620 It didn't exactly warm the waters before Trudeau's visit.
00:01:35.160 Modi had many extended and private meetings with leaders from other countries during the
00:01:38.780 summit.
00:01:39.040 They discussed important trade and global affairs issues.
00:01:42.160 India is a huge and growing economy.
00:01:44.060 Nations are eager to develop relationships with that country.
00:01:46.720 Aside from Trudeau, that is, who seems to go out of his way to antagonize them.
00:01:51.720 Still, even if Trudeau didn't manage to make any progress with India on the trip, he had
00:01:56.680 some important interactions with the leaders of the other 20 nations at the summit, right?
00:02:01.000 Well, no.
00:02:02.200 Aside from some photo ops with some other leaders, including an awkward one where it appears
00:02:06.040 President Biden is chewing Justin out, Trudeau doesn't appear to have had any formal meetings
00:02:11.080 with other leaders while he was there.
00:02:12.880 The press, even the Canadian press, were curious, and they were pretty blunt when they asked
00:02:16.560 Trudeau, well, what did you accomplish during this summit?
00:02:19.920 Trudeau stammered and offered his usual word salad and said, gender inclusion.
00:02:25.100 Yeah, that's what he said.
00:02:27.100 I mean, while the gender pronoun issue is burning red hot among activists and left-leaning Canadian
00:02:32.100 press outlets, it doesn't even register on the list of items to be considered by serious
00:02:36.520 world leaders.
00:02:38.180 World leaders don't take Justin Trudeau seriously.
00:02:40.280 And by extension, they don't take Canada seriously.
00:02:43.620 Canada used to pride itself as a nation that punches above its weight on the international
00:02:47.980 stage.
00:02:48.920 Past prime ministers performed diplomatic wonders at summits.
00:02:52.320 Our military was respected as a peacekeeper, and our resources, both human and natural, were
00:02:56.940 high in demand.
00:02:58.240 In eight years, Justin Trudeau has wiped out all of that international goodwill on every
00:03:03.420 front.
00:03:04.240 Trudeau can't leave the country without embarrassing himself, and of course us.
00:03:07.940 From being chided by the Australian prime minister when he tried to turn discussions to his socks,
00:03:14.020 to his awkward attempt at a three-way handshake in Washington, to his improv karaoke party during
00:03:20.120 Queen Elizabeth's funeral, to his hot mic moment where he was caught tittering like a schoolboy
00:03:24.620 and gossiping about then-President Trump.
00:03:27.420 Trudeau has consistently proven he doesn't have the depth of intellect or character to be a
00:03:32.260 player on the world stage.
00:03:33.360 Who can forget Xi Jinping chewing out Trudeau on the floor of a conference just last spring?
00:03:38.720 Or other conferences such as a recent G7 one where Trudeau was literally standing on the
00:03:43.260 outside looking in as leaders conferred.
00:03:46.040 Serious leaders won't dedicate time to Trudeau beyond quick poses for pictures, and it shows
00:03:50.220 as he's incapable of even lining up meetings with them now.
00:03:52.880 This is harming Canada, as we need international relationships to continue supplying our resources
00:03:57.920 in what is a competitive global environment.
00:04:01.080 Canada needs a leader with depth and gravitas in a world stage.
00:04:05.180 Whenever Justin Trudeau, whenever his Trudeau's term as a prime minister comes to an end,
00:04:10.380 Canada's going to have a mountain of damage to repair.
00:04:12.640 I mean, the domestic economic mess created by Trudeau is going to take decades to undo.
00:04:17.080 But the international damage he's done to Canada's reputation might take generations to get over.
00:04:21.220 I'm sure you all remember, once upon a time, people made a point of proudly displaying a Canadian flag
00:04:25.980 on their backpacks or suitcases when traveling overseas.
00:04:29.240 Now they're more likely to kind of keep subdued about where they come from,
00:04:32.000 unless they find themselves having to answer embarrassing questions about
00:04:34.460 how this nation allowed itself to be governed by a fool for so long.