Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lauded President Biden during an interview, stating that “it’s great to see America reengage.”
Trudeau made the comment in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” set to air on Sunday as he addressed whether former President Trump hindered some of the collaborative work with the Group of Seven (G-7) nations.
“I believe that we all need to work together in a more active way, and I’m glad to see the new administration — this is something I spoke with President Biden about directly — it’s great to see America reengage,” Trudeau said.
“I think certainly there were things that were more challenging under the previous administration in terms of moving the dial in the right direction on the international stage. But at the same time, you know, we all have democracies that go in different directions from time to time,” Trudeau continued. “And the sweep of the work that we need to do together as allied nations in the G-7 and elsewhere continues to be really important.”
In the past, Trump has had tenuous relationships with leaders from the G-7. The former president rankled the leaders of the group, whose countries have the globe’s largest advance economies, by pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement and rolled back climate regulations in the U.S.
In August of 2019, Trump skipped the G-7 meeting in France that was focused on climate, biodiversity and oceans.
Trudeau also said that Biden’s approach to handling the coronavirus pandemic was “aligned” with Canada’s.
“The approach that the president is taking on COVID right now much more aligns with where Canada has been for quite a while, grounded in science, grounded in protection of people as the best way to protect the economy and understanding that being there to support people is absolutely essential so that we can get through this as quickly as possible,” Trudeau said.
The comments come after Biden held his first bilateral meeting with Trudeau on Thursday, which took place virtually due to the pandemic.
During the meeting, Biden laid out a strategy for the U.S. and Canada to collaborate on a variety of issues, including the pandemic, national security and climate.
Updated 5:05 p.m.