Will Trudeau continue to be a coward about China?

During his recent press conference following his election win, Justin Trudeau was asked about dealing with Communist China, including efforts to free Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and whether he would take any retaliatory measures.

As usual, Trudeau passed up the opportunity to show strength, and failed to bring Canadians together in opposition to Communist China.

Instead, he uttered a bunch of empty platitudes which meant nothing.

Again and again, Trudeau shows total cowardice towards Communist China, and it appears that is set to continue.

The recent federal election would have been an opportunity to apply pressure to the federal leaders on China, but Trudeau skipped the foreign policy debate, and the Conservatives—despite having tougher policies towards China—didn’t make it much of an issue, and didn’t seize the opportunity to take on the “Captain Canada” mantle.

As a result, there has been no marshalling of Canadian public opinion in opposition towards China, no added pressure for our Citizens to be freed, and no retaliation.

The consequence of this—and the apparent continuation of Trudeau’s cowardly approach—is that China, and other potential opponents of our country, will be further emboldened to mistreat our country.

After all, China has been able to get away with their mistreatment of our country while facing no consequences from Canada. The government hasn’t even banned Huawei, which would be among the simplest of things they could do to send a message.

So, why would China or anyone else think twice before treating our country like garbage?

Contrast this to the US, where Mike Pence just gave a speech that slammed China, and ripped US companies that are subservient to the Communist State. The Trump Administration has—whether you like the other things they do or not – been far tougher on China than any Western government in decades.

And for those who argue that Canada doesn’t have the “size” to push back against China, the reality is that our economy is not dependent on trading with China, and a combination of government assistance for producers, expanded interprovincial trade, and trade deals with new markets could soften any blow that comes from decoupling or distancing our economy from the authoritarian Communist State.

But none of that will happen until Trudeau shows some guts and courage, and until the opposition is willing to make China a big deal with the Canadian people.

In other words, don’t hold your breath.