Trudeau navigates perils of energy, climate, Trump as Liberals wrap retreat
CALGARY — Justin Trudeau edged his way across a political tightrope Tuesday, doing his level best not to glance down at the perils lurking below.
Shattered credibility on climate change and women’s rights, two of his policy cornerstones. Alienated voters in Alberta’s hard-hit oilpatch. An agitated Donald Trump barring the door on cross-border trade.
Trudeau’s Liberal high-wire act was on full display, whether it was as he cheered a widely hated pipeline project that’s bound to aggravate environmentalists, or contemplated how best to avoid calling the U.S. president a misogynist.
First up, Trump’s conditional approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which he said would bring badly needed jobs to the energy sector without blowing up Canada’s commitments on greenhouse gas emissions.