Is Canada's PM Justin Trudeau the anti-Trump?

While most politicians have boarded the ‘anti-Trump' bandwagon, one man remains optimistic, compassionate and willing to work with Donald.

On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat down in a live-streamed digital town hall meeting where he was asked a myriad of pressing questions about Canada’s foreign policy and their role on the global stage, as well as his thoughts on GOP candidate Donald Trump.

Trudeau’s responses highlighted some major differences between his and Trump’s policies, but also signalled the stark contrast between how the two presented themselves as politicians.

Although he expressed his astonishment at Trump's campaign in the United States, Trudeau skilfully avoided blatantly attacking the brazen-faced billionaire.

“I’m not going to pick a fight with Donald Trump right now, I’m not going to support him either, obviously,” he said. “But I am watching very, very carefully to see this, I think, important moment in the United States in the greatest democracy in the world, to see how it deals with what is obviously a very real set of issues around frustration towards the body politic that we’ve seen in various iterations around the world.”

Meanwhile Trump’s hateful rhetoric has garnered much distaste from people and politicians all over the world, including Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto who recently compared the Republican front-runner to Hitler and Mussolini.

Another glaring difference between Trudeau and Trump is their stance on immigration. Trump has proposed banning Muslims from entering the US, building a wall along the US-Mexico border and deporting undocumented immigrants. Trudeau, on the other hand, has accepted 25,000 refugees into Canada.

“One of the things that’s made Canada great is the successive waves of people that have come from different parts of the world, to build a better life in Canada. Refugees are 'New Canadians', they’re an investment into our future,” said Trudeau, when asked why he invests so much in ensuring the welfare of refugees.

Although Trudeau could not be standing farther away from Trump when it comes to their beliefs, Trudeau said he “has faith in Americans and their approach to their politics,” and acknowledging the importance of cooperation, said he would still work alongside Trump if he had to.

“There have been lots of times in the past that the ideologies of president and prime minister haven’t perfectly matched up, but where there’s been a very constructive and positive relationship,” he remarked.

“Ultimately being open and respectful towards each other is a much more powerful way to diffuse hatred and anger than … big walls and oppressive policies,” Trudeau said on Sunday’s CBS show 60 Minutes, further spotlighting his ‘anti-Trump’ sentiments.

President Barack Obama isn’t a huge fan of Trump either and he and Trudeau seem to “click”. The two leaders first met at the APEC summit in the Philippines last November, solidfying their two nations’ close relations and acknowledging areas of agreement despite rifts on questions of energy and the battle against ISIS.

Later President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle extended to Trudeau and wife, Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, an invitation for an official visit and state dinner at the White House on March 10 2016. The invite is a huge deal for Canada, who hasn’t seen a Canadian leader invited to this glitzy event since 1997, when President Bill Clinton hosted Jean Chrétien.

The Trudeaus will attend the lavish dinner, joined by Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Stephanie Dion; International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland; Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan; Environmental Minister Catherine McKenna and Minister of fisheries, oceans and the Coast Guard Hunter Tootoo.

Amidst the glamour and feasting, Thursday’s dinner is a prime opportunity for Obama and Trudeau to strengthen a strained relationship. US Ambassador Bruce Heyman announced in a statement that the visit would foster co-operation on issues such as energy and climate change, security and the economic relationship.

However the dinner happens to coincide with a typically-rollicking Republican debate, set to take place in Florida that evening. Hopefully Trudeau’s visit to the White House will not be upstaged by the very man he’s keeping a distance from – Donald Trump himself.