Trudeau on charm offensive

Photo: Contributed

Canada's high-level United Nations charm offensive is back underway in New York City.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held court this morning at a panel discussion with members of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr fielded questions on everything from Canada's protracted NAFTA talks, to Venezuela's escalating human rights crisis, to Donald Trump — to why Canadians are so fond of doughnuts.

Freeland says the question of job retraining in the 21st century — and the uncertainty that surrounds it — is the federal government's central preoccupation.

And she says that while no one has any easy answers, the federal government is committed to working together with Canadians to find new solutions.

Trudeau says a central question in the current political discourse is whether leaders should be helping to ease and address that uncertainty — or exploiting it for short-term political gain.

Economic uncertainty is one of the driving forces behind the nationalist sentiments at work in the U.S. and parts of Europe.