Open this photo in gallery Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau take part in bilateral meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday. PATRICK DOYLE/The Canadian Press Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s whirlwind visit to Ottawa this weekend offered the Liberal government a rare chance to trumpet a strong international alliance in the face of unyielding strain with its two top trading partners. But a gaffe by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — referring twice to strong ties between Canada and China, not Japan — affixed a jarring asterisk to an otherwise warm and upbeat meeting between two allies facing the same common threats and challenges. Trudeau kicked off a Sunday morning photo-op in his Parliament Hill office noting 90 years of diplomatic relations between “Canada and China,” but immediately corrected himself to Japan. Later, in his opening remarks at a joint press conference, Trudeau said: “I am very, very glad that you were able to make such time for the tremendous friendship that we celebrate every day between Canada and China. Thank you, Shinzo.” Story continues below advertisement Abe’s visit comes as Canada finds itself between a rock and a hard place with the United States and China. The Trump administration is holding firm on punitive metal tariffs, while the People’s Republic’s ongoing imprisonment of two Canadian men following the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer in Vancouver has thwarted the Trudeau government’s Asian trade ambitions. Abe and Trudeau celebrated their successful launch late last year of the rebooted Trans-Pacific Partnership — the 11-country Pacific Rim trade alliance that was rescued after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from it in January 2017, nearly killing it. Trudeau said the new deal “stands in stark contrast with the United States withdrawal from that agreement,” and has given Canadian farmers an advantage over their American counterparts. “I can certainly say that there are many Canadian ranchers, among others, who are significantly benefiting from the tremendous increase in beef and pork exports to Japan over the past months, while the Americans do not have that kind of access.” Abe said the entry into force of the new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership — the CPTPP — has enabled Japanese consumers to enjoy “high-quality Canadian products in Japan.” He said he had “high hopes for further expansion of the export of Japanese high-quality products to the Canadian market.” “As such we are very happy to see the development of our bilateral relationship as well as partnership in various areas, including our economic co-operation (and) security co-operation.” The two countries are also charter members of a new international club that doesn’t include the U.S.: the Alliance for Multilateralism, a French-German initiative aimed at supporting the post-Second World War architecture — the United Nations, NATO, the World Trade Organization, and other groups — to which Trump has taken a wrecking ball. Story continues below advertisement Abe is to host the G20 summit in June and will join Trudeau at the G7 leaders’ gathering in France in late August, and while Trump’s seat at those two multilateral tables is guaranteed, continuing U.S. participation is no longer a given with its mercurial president. Abe noted Trudeau’s leadership of the G7 last year in Quebec — memorable for Trump hurling personal insults at Trudeau over Twitter from Air Force One after leaving — and said he looked forward to the prime minister’s help when he welcomes the G20 leaders to Osaka. The veteran Japanese leader made it clear that differences with China and the U.S. are significant, but he advocated a constructive path to bridge those divides. “Japan and Canada share freedom, human rights, rules of law and other universal values,” Abe said. “Based on this foundation, the global community must unite and try to encourage China to play a constructive role.” Canada and Japan also share the same vision when it comes to reaching out to the U.S., he said. Story continues below advertisement “We should co-operate together so that the United States will be encouraged to be the leader of the liberal free world.” Abe arrived in Ottawa on Saturday, hours after playing a round of golf with Trump at his Virginia course on a visit that demonstrated personal bonhomie but bore no fruit towards advancing a U.S.-Japan trade deal to replace the TPP that Trump abandoned. Abe had warm words at his Saturday night dinner at the Prime Minister’s Meech Lake retreat in West Quebec. “It was a tremendous honour for me,” Abe said through a translator. “My wife, Akie, and I had a very special time with you and Sophie.” On Friday, the Abes dined at the White House to celebrate the 49th birthday of Trump’s wife, Melania. Abe’s apparent personal bond with Trump has blossomed even though Japan, like Canada, is suffering under the president’s punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and facing the threat of more tariffs on its automobiles. Trudeau and his cabinet have branded those tariffs illegal and insulting.<doc-sep>Article content It’s one thing for a politician to step in it from time to time. They all do it. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to be generating troubling headlines and social media blowback with an increasing frequency these days. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or EDITORIAL: A weekend of missteps for Justin Trudeau Back to video This past weekend was a particularly rough one for him. First, there was Trudeau’s public statements alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He was in Ottawa to meet with Trudeau and discuss trade and international affairs. For whatever reason the PM confused Japan with China and referenced Abe’s country as “China” not once but twice. Japan and China are not, to put it mildly, the closest of friends and this surely would have frustrated Abe. While it’s reasonable to misspeak every now and then, it’s an odd mistake to make, especially twice. Social media piled on Trudeau for the double error. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or The other big viral moment was on Saturday, when Trudeau was visiting Constance Bay, one of the Ontario communities dealing with flooding.<doc-sep>
Justin Trudeau confuses Japan and China as he meets Japan PM The Canadian leader introduced Prime Minister Abe claiming it was a "real pleasure" to welcome the Japanese leader in Ottawa for the first time. But Mr Trudeau suffered a slip of the tongue when he accidentally claimed the visit was to celebrate 90 years of diplomatic relations between Canada and China. He said: “What a real pleasure it is to welcome Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Canada for the second time in a year, to Ottawa for the first time of this mandate on the occasion of 90 years of diplomatic relations between Canada and China…" “Canada and Japan", he promptly corrected himself. But the Canadian Prime Minister made the same mistake minutes later sparking claims Mr Trudeau might have been preoccupied with the worsening relations between his country and China after following the arrest of Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver last December. Mr Abe and Mr Trudeau met on Sunday to tout the benefits of a Pacific trade deal that US President Donald Trump walked away from and said the pact should serve as a model for future agreements. The landmark 11-country trade deal, a revamped version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), came into force last December. Justin Trudeau confuses Japan with China at Ottawa meeting with Shinzo Abe It does not include the United States, which pulled out of talks on the initial TPP in 2017. Justin Trudeau said exports of some beef products from Canada to Japan had increased nearly threefold under the deal, formally known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). He said: "This deal has benefited tremendously Canadian citizens, Japanese citizens and businesses and indeed people throughout the region. "That stands in stark contrast with the United States withdrawal continuing to move forward on freer more open trade, according to the rules we can all agree on, is something we need more in the world." Canada: Justin Trudeau labelled 'arrogant' by Indigenous Chief