Trudeau quizzed on national unity, Canadians detained in China on cusp of minority government

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said no to a formal coalition and yes to building the Trans Mountain expansion today, speaking to media for the first time since hanging on to a minority government on Monday.

“I can tell you it is not in our plans at all to form any sort of formal coalition,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa of Liberal’s post election strategy in keeping the confidence of the house.

The prime minister said he would unveil his new cabinet on November 20.

Trudeau said “affordability and “climate change” are issues that would garner support from opposition parties, even the separatist Bloc who surged to 32 seats, or more than 40 percent of the MPs from that province who will occupy a place in the new parliament.

Faced with separatist inclinations on either side of the country, ballot box sentiments that translated into political enclaves coast-to-coast, and now #WEXIT echoing throughout social media, Trudeau was blitzed with questions about Canadian unity.

“I expect Premiers Kenney and Moe and all Premiers to stand up for the interests of their citizens. That’s their job,” said Trudeau about the discord between Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.

Both have attacked Trudeau, Moe most recently for “dividing the nation” over lack of new pipelines to tidewater under a Liberal first-term government, and continue to stand in defiance of Trudeau’s carbon tax.

“People in Alberta and Saskatchewan have been suffering and struggling because of circumstances beyond their control,” Trudeau acknowledged, blaming sagging energy markets rather than the uncertainty his government is criticized for creating.

Trudeau also said he had a “cordial conversation” with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose government is also fighting the federal carbon tax in court, and was cast as Conservative bogeyman by the Liberal war room planners.

The Prime Minister also tried to balance “fighting climate change” with green lighting TMX; a position environmentalists have said is hypocritical.

“We need to get our resources to markets other than the United States in a safe and secure way,” said Trudeau. “And that’s what the Trans Mountain Pipeline will do, and then we will be able to invest all profits and revenues into this green energy and fighting climate change that Canadians expect us to have done.”

Considering the magnitude of the SNC-Lavalin scandal and its resultant fallout for Trudeau, who turfed the former-attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould from the Liberal Party for spilling the beans (she won as an independent and will remain a thorn in Trudeau’s side), there were no questions on this subject.

On day 317 of China’s detention of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig – arrested and charged with spying by the communist regime in retaliation for our arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou – Trudeau said he received  a briefing”from our National Security and Intelligence Advisor, who addressed these issues and others.”

Asked if he would get tougher with China, given the ongoing detention, agriculture embargoes and with Hong Kong political tensions spilling into Canadian streets, the Prime Minister would not say.

“Obviously, through this election campaign, I have continued to keep an eye on the situation around the world, including the difficult situation these two Canadians who have been arbitrarily detained are facing,” said Trudeau who noted Canadians living in Hong Kong “and the concerns that we have around respect for human rights and a de-escalation there.”

“I look forward to sitting down with and checking in with our experts who’ve been working hard over these past weeks on this China file, including, including Dominic Barton, our new Ambassador to China.”

If you want to read more reporting from The Post Millennial on the Meng/Huawei/US diplomatic conflagration, click on the Twitter link of our question to Trudeau and follow the thread.