Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it clear that the Liberal government will not change its stance about signing onto the continental ballistic missile defence shield and sending troops back into Afghanistan.
Speaking to reporters in Montreal yesterday, the Prime Minister said his government will always make decisions that are best for Canadians. “And our long-standing positions on those two issues are not going to be changed any time soon.”
In 2005, following a national debate, Canada opted out of ballistic missile defence program. However, in the past few days, we have seen an increased call for Canada to join the intercontinental missile defence shield due to the growing threat from North Korea.
Earlier in the week, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he will go ahead with the plan to send more troops to Afghanistan. This has sparked the question whether Canada will be following its southern neighbour and strongest ally.
Trudeau’s stance on the Afghan issue comes as no shock as he had previously ruled against a NATO call for Canada to send police trainers to Afghanistan. But it would be interesting to see how the Trump administration and NATO will react to his position on this issue.
The last group of Canadian troops left Afghanistan in 2014.