Justin Trudeau touts socialized medicine for US on late night show as Stephen Colbert warns against ‘Canada’s Trump,’ Pierre Poilievre

“Your conservative party leader, your opponent there, has been called ‘Canada's Trump,’” said Colbert, pausing for effect and adding, “I'm sorry about that. But I'm curious why at least some form of nativism or far-right xenophobia might grow in a country even as polite as Canada. Why do you think this is getting a foothold even in your country?”

“That phrase ‘even in Canada,’ I mean, we're not some magical place of unicorns and rainbows all the time. We’ve got more than our fair share,” he said, as he listed off what he considered to be the great achievements of Canadian democracy: universal health care, moving "forward on a world-leading fight against climate change with a price on pollution” and dental care, which he said Poilievre “is gaslighting” Canadians with by saying it “doesn’t exist.”

When Colbert and Trudeau discussed cross-border disputes, Trudeau mentioned softwood lumber and said, “You guys are paying too much for your lumber because you've got tariffs on them, and that doesn't make any sense. So we keep trying to point that out for you.”

Colbert turned to drugs – at least the therapeutic kind. “We come up, we come up to you guys to get cheaper drugs. Yeah, we'll come over the border for cheaper drugs. You guys okay with that?” he asked Trudeau.

“We're happy to try and help you out, but it'd be really easier if you guys had universal health care,” the prime minister responded.

Though Trudeau received rapturous applause throughout his dialogue with Colbert, he is facing a non-confidence motion from the Official Opposition Conservatives Tuesday with a vote Wednesday. Even though New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh said he has “ripped up” his loose coalition agreement with Trudeau, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois will be voting with the Liberals to keep the Trudeau government in power.

Trudeau has said losing byelections and being 20 points behind the Conservatives in the polls won't affect his resolve to stay on as Liberal leader and prime minister. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said.