Tom Mulcair, the leader of Canada’s progressive New Democratic party, has called Republican frontrunner Donald Trump a “fascist”, and taken aim at Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, for refusing to condemn Trump’s candidacy.



“Donald Trump is a fascist,” Mulcair said at an event last week. “Let’s not kid ourselves, let’s not beat around the bush.”

He pointed to Trump’s proposals to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the country and build a wall along the Mexican border as examples of how the leader was appealing to what he called “the lowest feelings in human nature”. The remarks surfaced this week after the NDP sent a videoclip of the remarks to media.

Mulcair also attacked Trudeau’s reticence to speak frankly about Trump. “I will not hesitate to point out the fact that Mr Trudeau just shrugs his shoulders when he’s asked about Donald Trump and says, ‘Oh the relationship between Canada and the United States goes beyond any two individuals,’” he said. “I’m sorry, if a fascist becomes president of the United States, I want to be on record as having opposed it long before that election.”

Trudeau, dubbed the anti-Trump by some in the US media, has shied away from offering his views on the possibility of Trump at the helm of Canada’s largest trading partner in recent months. “I’m not going to pick a fight with Donald Trump right now. I’m not going to support him either, obviously,” he said at a forum in early March.

Trudeau’s hesitation was later probed in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “I respect the American electoral process. I have faith in what [Abraham] Lincoln referred to as ‘the better angels of American nature’, and I am looking forward to who I am going to work with after 4 November,” Trudeau demurred.

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Trudeau’s stance is a departure from his remarks on Trump’s proposals in December. “Painting Isis and others with a broad brush that extends to all Muslims is not just ignorant, it’s irresponsible,” he said. But as Trump’s chances of making it into the White House have grown, Trudeau has become increasingly tight-lipped on the issue.

Many have cautioned Trudeau to stay quiet. “Trudeau, as prime minister, should refrain from commenting on candidates in US presidential elections,” said Derek Burney, a former Canadian ambassador to the US. “He will deal with whomever the electorate chooses.”

He noted that Mulcair, who leads a party that placed third in the last election, has more latitude to speak out. The NDP leader’s remarks also come as he’s under fire over his leadership of the party.

Trudeau should not just be wary of Trump retaliating if he becomes president, said Brett Bruen, a former director of global engagement at the White House. “This is a candidate who has demonstrated time and again that he’s willing to go to any lengths to eviscerate those that he sees as a threat to his candidacy,” he said, pointing to the considerable sway Trump has over his supporters. “And that could have economic consequences, that could have consequences just in terms of Canada’s brand in the US and that’s not something that I think is in either country’s interest.”

The question of how to engage with Trump is one leaders around the world are wrestling with, said Bruen. He suggested actions rather than direct confrontation, such as Trudeau’s greeting of Syrian refugees at the airport, as an example. “That sends a very clear message but does not entangle him in a very dirty campaign in the US,” said Bruen.

Mulcair isn’t the only Canadian politician who has taken aim at Trump. When asked in December, Rona Ambrose, the interim leader of the Conservative party told the Canadian Press that Trump’s views were not in line with Canada’s conservative voices, despite a heated election last fall that saw her party promise a hotline to report “barbaric cultural practices” and talk up Canadian values.

“I think he’s off the spectrum, frankly,” said Ambrose. “That’s not a voice that we welcome in our party.”