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I suppose if you flit from one international conference to another, you make lots of small talk with other countries’ leaders about their policies and, to fill any awkward silences, they ask about yours in return. So maybe that comes across as “world interest” in us. And, to be fair, a little later in the interview Barton says she saw Trudeau-branded socks and coffee mugs on a recent trip to New York, so perhaps it’s not surprising the PM feels the world really is watching him.

At the moment, however, the world is watching French President Emmanuel Macron much more. The yellow vest protests in France that started over a fuel surcharge designed to get the country to its Paris-accord carbon-reduction targets have evolved to make Paris itself a literal target for any and all violence-prone opponents of capitalism, globalization, Donald Trump and so on. But carbon taxes were the spark.

France’s troubles have galvanized one aspect of Ottawa’s carbon policy. Asked about Macron, Trudeau said in his interview: “He didn’t ensure the second part of it: you put a price on pollution ’cause we want less pollution. But you also make sure that ordinary Canadians are going to be able to afford this transition towards a lower-carbon economy.”