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through negativity and through divi-
sion, it’s really difficult to then govern
responsibly for everyone once you’ve
gone and divided people.” It’s clear that
optimism remains central to his appeal.
“The fact of the matter is that I’ve
always—and you’ll know this—been
more enthusiastic about costumes than
is sometimes appropriate,” Trudeau told
reporters on his campaign plane. The
“you’ll know this” part took in not the
instances of brownface or blackface that
had just become known, but scenes like
a February state visit to India, where the
entire family appeared in Indian garb.
At the time, the frequent costume
changes drew quips about showboating,
and the line between appreciating a cul-
ture and appropriating it. “FYI, we Indians
don’t dress like this every day sir, not even inBollywood,” tweeted a Kashmiri politician.Trudeau’s opTimism has helped make
him one of the few remaining advocates
on the world stage for the global world
order that seemed so certain until re-
cently. He remains an unapologetic sup-
porter of free trade, immigration, diver-
sity, human rights—all the causes that
have been challenged by nationalist pop-
ulism elsewhere, including south of the
world’s longest undefended border.
Trump’s election was both a challenge
and an opportunity for Trudeau. The
challenge was obvious: Trump had cam-
paigned against NAFTA, the trade treaty
on which Canada had built much of its
economy. His first trip abroad was not the
traditional jaunt to America’s neighbor to
the north, but to Saudi Arabia, to wave
swords with kings. When Trump cited “na-
tional security” to justify tariffs on Cana-
dian steel, an indignant Trudeau cited the
casualties Canadians had taken fighting
in Afghanistan. And when Canada hosted
the G-7 in June 2018, Trump ruined the
finale by withdrawing from a joint com-
muniqué, after taking offense at Trudeau’s
description of it at a news conference.
At the same time, Canada under
Trudeau assumed the image of a country
intent on proclaiming ideals the new U.S.
President declined to articulate, much less
embrace. While Trump built his campaign
on the promise of a border wall with Mex-
ico and sharply reduced the number of ref-
ugees allowed into the U.S., Trudeau went
to the airport to welcome asylum seekers.
“You are safe at home now,” he told Syr-
ians who had fled the war. U.S. tech giants
opened offices in Vancouver, where visas
for foreign workers were easier to come by.
“My focus is on how to make sure that
Canada does well in the 21st century,”
Trudeau says, framing the issue in terms
of both compassion and competitiveness.
“We need to be bringing in people from
around the world. We need immigration
and, yes, part of that is accepting refugees.”
The numbers show the commitment.
In 2018, Canada, a nation of just 37 mil-
lion, accepted more refugees than the
U.S., a country of 327 million. But some
of this, Trudeau claims, is driven by self-
interest. “Understanding that there areTrudeau in the Prime Minister’s
office in Ottawa on Sept. 3