OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has congratulated Democrat Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris on winning the U.S. presidential election.
Trudeau says he looks forward to “tackling the world’s greatest challenges together.”
Biden won Pennsylvania late Saturday morning giving him more than the 270 votes needed in the U.S. electoral college to unseat President Donald Trump to become the 46th occupant of the White House.
“Canada and the United States enjoy an extraordinary relationship – one that is unique on the world stage. Our shared geography, common interests, deep personal connections, and strong economic ties make us close friends, partners, and allies,” Trudeau said in the statement.
“We will further build on this foundation as we continue to keep our people safe and healthy from the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and work to advance peace and inclusion, economic prosperity, and climate action around the world.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened legal action and fired off complaints, without evidence, that the counting of ballots in the U.S. election was corrupt.
A Biden presidency will mean an end to nearly four years of Canada’s government having to walk on eggshells to navigate around an unpredictable U.S. president who posed a primordial threat to the Canadian economy even before he took control of the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2017.
Trump repeatedly threatened to rip up the North American Free Trade Agreement before and after becoming president and Canada, along with Mexico, managed to negotiate a replacement deal that went into effect this past summer.
But not before Trump insulted Canadian farmers, Trudeau himself, and the country’s Second World War legacy by imposing punitive steel and aluminum tariffs using a section of U.S. trade law that deemed the country a national-security threat.
Trudeau and his cabinet took that personally, and the Prime Minister felt Trump’s wrath directly in June 2018 when the president called him “very dishonest and weak” on Twitter after the G7 leaders’ summit in Charlevoix, Que.
On Twitter, Trudeau offered Biden and Harris a more personal message.
“Our two countries are close friends, partners, and allies. We share a relationship that’s unique on the world stage. I’m really looking forward to working together and building on that with you both,” he wrote.
Green Party Leader Annamie Paul offered her congratulations in a statement, saying she hoped the two countries could work together on enhancing the fight against climate change.
“In particular, I want to pay tribute to Kamala as she becomes the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States,” said Paul.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2020.
Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
