UN General Assembly
2016

When leaders are faced with citizens’ anxiety, we have a choice to make. Do we exploit that anxiety or do we allay it? Exploiting it is easy, but in order to allay it we need to be prepared to answer some very direct questions. What will create the good, well-paying jobs that people want and need and deserve? What will strengthen and grow the middle class and help those working hard to join it? What will build an economy that works for everyone? What will help to make the world a safer, more peaceful place? To allay people’s anxiety, we need to create economic growth that is broadly shared, because a fair and successful world is a peaceful one. We need to focus on what brings us together, not on what divides us. For Canada, that means re-engaging in global affairs through institutions like the United Nations. It does not serve our interests — or the world’s — to pretend that we are not deeply affected by what happens beyond our borders.