Trudeau on Trump: ‘Cape Breton is lovely’

[Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in a town hall Monday with Huffington Post in Toronto/Huffington Post]

No matter how many times you ask him, Justin Trudeau won’t tell you what he thinks of Donald Trump.

In a town hall meeting on Monday afternoon with Huffington Post, the prime minister fielded several questions about how he viewed the flaxen-haired front-runner for the U.S. Republican presidential nomination.

Trudeau refused to be drawn in, saying his job as prime minister is to work with whomever is elected in November.

“The relationship between Canada and the United States, on an economic, cultural and social level, is too important for me to start picking fights with anyone right now,” he said.

Trump has faced accusations of racism and been a flashpoint of controversy during the United States’ seemingly endless presidential campaign.

Last month, a Nova Scotia radio host launched a website welcoming Americans to move to Cape Breton if Trump wins the presidency.

Trudeau referenced the site in his response to a question about the potential impact of Trump’s stated plan to crack down harshly on immigration and expel millions of undocumented workers from the U.S.

“Answering hypotheticals is not something that politicians should do,” he said. “The fact is Cape Breton is lovely all times of the year. If people want to make choices that suit their lifestyles better, Canada is always welcoming and open.”

When pressed further on the impact of Trump’s fiery rhetoric about banning Muslims from entering the U.S. and his embrace of the use of torture to fight terrorism, Trudeau said it was important to ask questions about why Americans are so angry about their politics.

He pointed to former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, and said Ford had tapped into a “real and legitimate sense” of disenfranchisement and disillusionment with political leadership.

“Let’s see if the things [Trump] needed to say in order to secure the Republican nomination are the same things he chooses to say in order to win the presidency, if that’s what happens,” he said.

“I have faith in Americans and in their approach to their politics.”

Whatever the result, Trudeau said, leaders in Canada and the U.S. have to work together regardless of their political differences because of the interdependent relationship of the two countries.

The prime minister fielded questions on many subjects apart from Trump from those in attendance as well as videos sent from all over the world, including Korea, France and Spain.

Trudeau said his plan to use government spending on infrastructure to boost the economy still makes sense despite the uncertain economic outlook.

He pointed to Canada’s low levels of debt and rock-bottom interest rates and said the need for economic stimulus has only increased.

“We’re in a very sound fiscal position,” he said. “This is a time to be investing … in infrastructure, roads, bridges and ports that are going to be contributing to our economy by having people work.”

On Syria, Trudeau said President Bashar al-Assad has been a part of the problem in that country’s civil war, but that Assad could also be part of the solution.

He said Canada is one voice among many when it comes to resolving the conflict, though he said there was opportunity for the country to help put pressure on Russia over its military campaign in Syria and work with the UN Security Council.

“There’s not much we can do all on our own, but certainly a lot we can contribute to as part of a global effort,” he said.