Global Progress Action Summit | Trudeau calls for “concrete solutions” to combat populism

(Montreal) Inflation, housing crisis, climate emergency: leaders must “recognize” and propose “concrete” solutions to the daily concerns of their citizens, who will otherwise turn to populism, warns the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.

This is what he declared during a panel organized as part of the Global Progress Action summit, which was held on Saturday in Montreal.

Leaders from around the world came together to promote progressive leadership.

“If we don’t meet people’s needs in their daily lives, we won’t be able to connect with them,” Trudeau said.

He was accompanied on stage by the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, and the former Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin.

Rise of populism, erosion of public confidence in institutions, threats to democracy: they discussed the main challenges facing progressive leaders.

According to Justin Trudeau, one of the strengths of the right is that it knows how to “reflect the anger” of the population, who have the impression of being “seen and heard”.

Meanwhile, progressives talk about “building a better world that is fair for everyone,” when they should be offering “concrete solutions that people can see and feel.”

“We must show that the institutions work and that we can respond to these challenges in a tangible way,” he stressed in English.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister invited progressive leaders to be careful not to fall into the “same traps”. “When the right wants to draw us into their culture war, we must say yes, we will always be there to defend human rights, but we will also be there to help you feed your family, to make sure that you have a good employment in a changing world,” he continued.

“Times are difficult”

Asked about the state of the Western world, the panelists addressed multiple social crises, including the increasing cost of living, homelessness and violence on social media.

“These are difficult times,” admitted former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

“It is very important that leaders recognize this. The challenge then is to find consensus around solutions,” she continued, admitting the difficulty of the task.

The question of adaptation to climate change was also put to elected officials.

For Jonas Gahr Støre, who heads an oil-producing country, political leaders must focus on the fact that the ecological transition can also be beneficial for the economy.

“For me, the issue of climate change is about trying to frame it in a way that reduces emissions at the same time as creating jobs,” said the Prime Minister of Norway.

Other panelists included Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, and former Prime Minister of Sweden, Magdalena Andersson, who discussed the current geopolitical instability, mainly fueled by the war in Ukraine.

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair was also a distinguished guest at the summit.