Justin Trudeau tells Biden 'U.S. leadership has been sorely missed over the past years'


Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn't exactly hide his pleasure that former President Donald Trump is no longer leading his southern neighbor, at least on matters that have to do with climate change, when he met virtually with President Biden on Tuesday. Although Trudeau was the first world leader to call and congratulate Biden on winning the presidential election, the Tuesday exchange was the first official meeting between the two since Biden assumed office last month.
Trudeau thanked Biden "for stepping up in such a big way on tackling climate change," adding that "U.S. leadership has been sorely missed" in recent years. "As we're preparing for the joint rollout and communique from this one, it's nice when Americans aren't pulling out all references to climate change and, instead, adding them in," he said, apparently referring to the Trump administration's attitude toward climate policy.
Biden is expected to enjoy a warmer relationship with Trudeau than his predecessor, although it won't be seamless — there's already been friction over Biden nixing the expansion Keystone XL pipeline, a project favored by both Trump and Trudeau.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
The best shows to see at Edinburgh Fringe 2025
The Week Recommends The world's biggest arts festival is back with an incredible line-up
-
Wonsan-Kalma: North Korea's new 'mammoth' beach resort
Under the Radar Pyongyang wants to boost tourism but there won't be many foreign visitors to Kim Jong Un's 'pet project'
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities