“We share the same values,” Trudeau said in the interview broadcast by Omni Television, as part of the programme ‘Focus Portuguese’. “We have the same approach to trade. There are big opportunities for the countries in working and growing together.”
Trudeau gave the interview in the wake of an official visit to Canada by Portugal’s Prime Minister, António Costa, from 2 to 5 May.
As well as Toronto, Costa and his delegation visited Ottawa, Kingston and Montreal.
Portugal was the eighth EU member to ratify the bloc’s free-trade agreement with Canada, which Trudeau said was a positive sign for both countries.
He hailed the “big opportunities” created by such trade deals, “for workers in both countries, but also for consumers” and also foresaw a boost to direct investment, with Portuguese companies setting up shop in Canada, or vice versa.
In the interview, Trudeau also hailed the contribution of people from Portugal, or their descendants, in building his country, saying that the values of these people – their focus on family and hard work – helped make Canada what it is today.
On 3 May Portugal and Canada signed a bilateral accord on youth mobility, through the programme ‘International Experience Canada’, that will give the opportunity to people aged between 18 and 35 from each country to travel and work in the other for one year.
On the issue of undocumented Portuguese nationals in Canada, Trudeau pledged to “work closely with the community” to deal with the situation, while stressing the importance that rules are followed.
The Canadian prime minister noted that Portugal’s national day is on 10 June, closely followed by football’s World Cup in Russia, from 14 June to 15 July, and even suggested that he might support Portugal in that tournament, saying he had “a lot of friends” who are encouraging him to do so and describing the squad’s top star, Cristiano Ronaldo, as “extraordinary”.
There are some 480,000 Portuguese nationals and descendants of Portuguese in Canada, according to official figures – most of them with roots in the Azores.
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