Former prime minister Justin Trudeau was accompanied by international pop star Katy Perry as he spoke about the importance of “soft power” in geopolitics at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday.
Perry sat in the front row as Trudeau spoke about Canada not interfering in other countries’ domestic policy to seize oil and assert influence.
Soft power, the focus of Trudeau’s address to a group of international politicians and wealthy corporate heads, refers to a country’s ability to wield tools such as music, food, sports and other cultural commodities to strengthen its global reputation and relationships with other nations.
Hard power, by contrast, relies on military force and economic sanctions and may be viewed as coercive.
Trudeau said Ukraine’s stand against Russia’s invasion was “soft power in action,” and that Canada’s solidarity with Ukraine underscores a commitment to an international rules-based order.
“Never underestimate the resolve, the motivation and strength of people standing up to defend their sovereignty, their identity, their very existence,” he said.
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The former Liberal leader recounted how Canada has advocated for free trade that prioritizes environmental protection, high labour standards and women’s equality while rejecting the notion that U.S. President Donald Trump could make Canada the 51st state.
The couple, who were first seen in public in Montreal last July, left the event together but did not stop to speak with a long line of journalists.
During his speech, Trudeau said he was inspired by how Canadians stood united in the face of threats to their country’s sovereignty, including by seeking out made-in-Canada labels in grocery stores and other retail spaces.
He used a personal anecdote to illustrate this soft power, and described going to a rooftop bar with an “American girl” — Perry — who ordered a “Jack and Coke,” and was told there was no American alcohol on the menu.
“That’s an example of Canadians standing up for themselves,” he said.
The World Economic Forum is a major event in Switzerland where international leaders and wealthy corporate leaders meet to discuss global affairs and economic development.
The event comes as the leaders of all 27 European countries prepare for an “extraordinary meeting” later this week in Davos, European Council President Antonio Costa said on Sunday. The meeting will take place in response to Trump’s escalating threats to take Greenland.
Trump has not ruled out using force against Greenland and has also expressed a desire to purchase the island. Over the weekend, he implemented 10 per cent tariffs on eight European nations that opposed his pursuit of Greenland. They are scheduled to rise to 25 per cent in June if no deal is reached.
Trump has given several reasons for wanting to seize control of Greenland — namely U.S. national security.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump accused the U.K. of threatening U.S. security by “giving away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius.”
The U.K. recently reached a deal with Mauritius to settle a long-standing dispute over the Chagos Islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean that has been British territory since 1814. The agreement grants Mauritius sovereignty over the land, while allowing the U.K. and the U.S. to retain control of the military base Trump mentioned, Reuters reported.
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING,” he wrote.
Earlier this week, Trump also indicated he wanted to control Greenland because he was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, telling Norway’s prime minister that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace,” two European officials told The Associated Press on Monday.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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