Justin Trudeau resignation: Joe Biden calls PM a ‘friend’


US President Joe Biden thanked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, calling him a “friend” and adding that “the world is better off because of him.”

Biden wrote in a statement that he spoke with Trudeau on Monday. That day, Trudeau announced that he would leave the Liberal leadership and eventually resign as prime minister.

“Over the last decade, Prime Minister Trudeau has led with commitment, optimism and strategic vision. The US-Canada alliance is stronger because of him. The American and Canadian people are safer because of him. And the world is better thanks to him,” the president wrote.

Trudeau took power in 2015, toward the end of Barack Obama’s presidency. Biden was then vice president. Nearly a decade later, Biden is preparing to hand the keys to the Oval Office to President-elect Donald Trump, and Trudeau is leaving the Prime Minister’s Office as the country prepares for a tariff war with the United States.

“Together, we have tackled some of the most difficult issues our nations have faced in decades,” the letter continues, “from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change to the scourge of fentanyl.”

The last point – the “fentanyl scourge” – will continue to be a point of friction between Trump and the next prime minister. The president-elect mentioned control of the dangerous drug as a condition to avoid 25 percent tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States when he takes office.

Trudeau met with the incoming president to discuss the tariffs, which could seriously affect trade between the two countries. Last year, the United States exported goods worth C$461.5 billion to Canada and imported C$540.3 billion. The U.S. International Trade Association called the trade relationship the largest and most comprehensive in the world, supporting millions of jobs in each country.

“We have made generational investments to strengthen our supply chains and rebuild our economies from the bottom up and the middle, establishing North America as the most economically competitive region in the world,” Biden wrote.

“I am proud to call him my friend. And I will always be grateful for his collaboration and leadership.”



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