Justin Trudeau (left) with Donald Trump (right)

Within the context of national and international politics, we often find very diverse leaders, prime ministers, head of states, monarchs, presidents and dictators. The unique personality of political leaders has been carefully analyzed by political scientists throughout the years, and the information concerning the personal stances and preferences of leaders has often been used to foresee or anticipate their moves. However, there are cases – many cases – in which “predicting the future” is almost impossible. Some leaders are the so-called “outliers” – they do not fit any pattern and anticipating their moves is incredibly difficult: this is the case of Donald Trump.

In fact, the 45^th President of the United States has won the 2016 elections causing general surprise and shaking the existing global order at its very core. Mr. Trump had no previous political experience, ran a particularly controversial presidential campaign and proposed a very radical agenda, which included:

• Creating a wall between Mexico and the United States (wall that should be paid by Mexico, of course);
• Strengthening the U.S. borders;
• Cracking down illegal immigration;
• Deport all illegal aliens;
• Banning (certain) migrants from the country;
• Cutting taxes for everyone; and
• Taking a stronger stance on several foreign policy issues.

Furthermore, before and after his election, Trump has shown little respect towards women and media, and has posted controversial Tweets attacking news agencies, public figures (i.e. Meryl Streep) and famous brands (i.e. Nordstrom).

However, not all leaders are as controversial and unpredictable. In fact, the Prime Minister of the United States’ biggest neighboring country could not be more different. Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau stand at opposing ends of the political spectrum and their personalities are in stark contrast. The U.S. President is an histrionic man, former TV star and real estate developer with extremist ideas and nationalist ideals whereas the Canadian Prime Minister is a young politician – former teacher and advocate for youth and environment – who believes that the input of young Canadians is the key of success and wants to work in partnership with other countries to tackle global issues such as climate change.

Justin Trudeau

Justin Trudeau is one of the youngest head of state in the entire world and the second youngest Canadian Prime Minister. Trudeau was born on December 25, 1971 and was deeply influenced by his father and former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Raised speaking both English and French, Trudeau graduated from McGill University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in literature and later obtained a degree in education from the University of British Columbia. Justin Trudeau worked as teacher, became the Chair of Katimavik and served as advocate for the environment and young people.

Wanting to make a real change in the lives of Canadians, Trudeau entered politics in 2006-2007 and was elected leader of the Liberal Party in April 2013. During his 2015 campaign, he focused on:

• Creation of new jobs;
• Achieving reconciliation with and providing redress for past abuses to indigenous peoples;
• Protecting abortion rights;
• Combatting climate change and global warming;
• Legitimizing marijuana;
• Increasing taxes for wealthy people and cutting taxes for the middle class;
• Reforming the electoral process;
• Pushing for gender balance;
• Eliminate gender-based and sexual-orientation-based discrimination;
• Respecting and promoting freedom and diversity;
• Welcoming and integrating refugees; and
• Encouraging young people to actively participate in Canada’s political life.

On October 19, 2015, Justin Trudeau won the election as well as a majority government with 184 seats and defeated the Conservative Party.

As far as his private life is concerned, Trudeau likes his privacy and tends to keep his private affairs away from public scrutiny. Yet, we know that he married Sophie Grégoire – a Quebec radio and TV host – in 2005 and the two have three children: Xavier, Ella-Grace, and Hadrien.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s past is very different from the history of most political leaders. In fact, Mr. Trump – born in Queens, New York, in 1946 – is the son of a real estate agent and is the first president in the history of the United States to be elected without having previous government or military experience.

In the 1970s, Trump took over the family business and participated in the development of luxurious buildings and palaces, including casinos, hotels and private estates. For instance, in the 1980s he worked in the construction of the Grand Hyatt New York hotel, opened hotel-casinos in Atlantic City and New Jersey and opened the notorious Trump Tower.

In addition, throughout his career, Trump faced several bankruptcies and was forced to give up large percentages of his ownership shares in order to save his empire. Finally, before deciding to run for presidency in 2015, Mr. Trump starred in the TV-show “The Apprentice,” offering a management position in one of his companies to the winner of the reality show.

In the first eight months of his presidency, Donald Trump has taken several controversial measures, including:

• Signing two executive orders – also known as “Muslim bans” – to prevent immigration from seven (later six) Muslim majority countries;
• Attempting to repeal the Obamacare – although he has not managed to obtain the majority of the votes to enforce the measure;
• Strengthening security checks and harshened immigration laws;
• Withdrawing from the Paris Agreements;
• Focusing on American development;
• Pulling out of or renegotiating several multilateral agreements;
• Attacking press agencies and accusing media outlets of spreading fake news;
• Proposing harsher sanctions against North Korea – although the United Nations Security Council did not adopt the resolution proposed as Russia (one of the Permanent 5 Members) used its veto power;
• Meeting with Palestinian President Habbas and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in order to promote a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian question; and
• Deporting several “illegal aliens.”

Justin Trudeau vs Donald Trump

The Canadian Prime Minister and the American President could not be more different. The first is a young politician who believes in the importance of diversity and who wants to find global solutions to common problems. The second has extremist ideas, prefers bilateral agreements to multilateral deals, and is determined to “Make America Great Again.” The differences between Trump and Trudeau are evident:

• Their background is very different: Trudeau was a teacher and a youth and environment advocate. whereas Trump was a real estate developer and TV host;
• They have contrasting opinions on climate change and global warming: Trudeau believes that climate change is a serious problem that needs to be solved before it becomes too late, whereas Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreements and does not believe in the use of alternative fuels;
• They have opposing views on immigration: Trudeau continues to welcome Syrian refugees and is working to improve Canada’s integration system in order to allow refugees and migrants to find their place within the Canadian society, whereas Trump believes that most immigrants represent a threat to national security. In fact, Trump signed two different “Muslim bans,” preventing people from seven (later six) Muslim majority countries from entering the United States. Such executive orders have been disputed by judges, lawyers and activists.
• They have a different attitude towards the media: Trudeau encourages freedom of opinion, values independent news agencies and takes into account the opinion of the Canadian youth, whereas Trump often accused media outlets of allegedly spreading fake news concerning his family and his presidency; and
• They have different views on women: Trudeau is a feminist who is working to protect abortion rights whereas Trump has shown little respect towards women (i.e. his campaign was jeopardized by a record of him being particularly disrespectful towards women), and has a conservative stance on abortion.

Summary

Although Canada and the United States are economic and political allies, the two current heads of state could not be more different. Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, is a young politician, former teacher and youth advocate, married to a TV and radio host with whom he has three children. Trudeau believes that all countries should work together to halt climate change, pushes for the creation of multilateral trade deals, wants to achieve reconciliation with indigenous peoples and values diversity. Donald Trump, the 45^th President of the United States, is a former real estate developer, a billionaire businessman who was married three times and has three sons and two daughters. Trump has a radical agenda and his main goal is to “Make America Great Again.” The U.S. President wants to bring jobs back to the United States, promised benefits to those who decide to invest in America, took measures to slow down illegal immigration (and immigration in general) and withdrew from the Paris Agreements.

However, the differences between the two are not preventing the two governments from continuing their cooperation on several issues as well as their relation of mutual respect and support. In fact, the historical ties that link the two countries seem to be stronger than the discrepancies between the two men.

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