Stephen Harper, Canada’s former prime minister, might well have been less colourful and pleasing to eye and ear than the current Canadian leader. But Harper focused on what he believed Canada needed to get ahead in the world, not on his image and on making Canadians feel good about themselves.

This contrasts markedly with the approach under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. How much longer will Canada have to pay the price so Trudeau can remind us that he is a human rights activist? Take, for example, the inquiry into violence against Indigenous women and girls, and the flow ...