Obama applauds Trudeau in closed-door meeting
Senior Liberals in Antalya, Turkey, are pretty excited that Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama seem to be hitting it off.
Canada’s new Prime Minister had already spoken twice by phone with the President of the United States and they are scheduled to have their first formal meeting later this week at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit in Manilla.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau shared a bit of what he saw as one of the few people in the closed-door meetings of G20 world leaders.
“One of the most interesting moments in the meeting was when President Obama, in his comments said – and this is pretty much a direct quote, as much as I can remember it exactly – ‘I applaud Justin for his willingness to stimulate the economy through fiscal stimulus.’ So that was his comment to his entire room,” said Mr. Morneau Sunday evening.
“To me that was a very interesting comment. I will tell you that President Obama was on a first-name basis with our Prime Minister and with [International Monetary Fund Managing Director] Christine Lagarde. I noted that and I think that reflects to a great extent the comfort they’re feeling with the new government and the enthusiasm.”
The attention of world leaders at the economic summit has focused on the Paris terror attacks. However, the summit is also Mr. Trudeau’s first opportunity to meet the world’s biggest political actors.
On Monday, Mr. Trudeau meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the G20 summit comes to a close.
Politics notebook: Obama applauds Trudeau in closed-door meeting - The Globe and Mail
Senior Liberals in Antalya, Turkey, are pretty excited that Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama seem to be hitting it off.
Canada’s new Prime Minister had already spoken twice by phone with the President of the United States and they are scheduled to have their first formal meeting later this week at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit in Manilla.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau shared a bit of what he saw as one of the few people in the closed-door meetings of G20 world leaders.
“One of the most interesting moments in the meeting was when President Obama, in his comments said – and this is pretty much a direct quote, as much as I can remember it exactly – ‘I applaud Justin for his willingness to stimulate the economy through fiscal stimulus.’ So that was his comment to his entire room,” said Mr. Morneau Sunday evening.
“To me that was a very interesting comment. I will tell you that President Obama was on a first-name basis with our Prime Minister and with [International Monetary Fund Managing Director] Christine Lagarde. I noted that and I think that reflects to a great extent the comfort they’re feeling with the new government and the enthusiasm.”
The attention of world leaders at the economic summit has focused on the Paris terror attacks. However, the summit is also Mr. Trudeau’s first opportunity to meet the world’s biggest political actors.
On Monday, Mr. Trudeau meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the G20 summit comes to a close.
Politics notebook: Obama applauds Trudeau in closed-door meeting - The Globe and Mail