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OTTAWA — Warning against the “dangers of populism,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says using immigration as a wedge political issue puts Canada’s future at risk.

During a wide-ranging interview with The Canadian Press, Trudeau said he believes a broad Canadian consensus holds that immigration is good for the country, in the face of growing opposition to it in other places.

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The Liberal leader’s line suggests a theme for next year’s election campaign.

“The decision that the Conservatives have taken recently to, for example, go after the global compact on migration in a way that is deliberately and knowingly spreading falsehoods for short-term political gain and to drum up anxiety around immigration is irresponsible, is not the way we should be moving forward in a thoughtful way on one of the big issues that is facing our country,” Trudeau said.

The prime minister says he welcomes debate and discussion about immigration — as long as it sticks to meaningful areas of policy, such as the right number of immigrants to bring to Canada each year and how to properly integrate newcomers within the country.