Canadians want Americans to pay more attention to the world, says Trudeau

TORONTO – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians would appreciate it if Americans paid more attention to what’s going on around the globe.

Trudeau said in a “60 Minutes” interview to be aired Sunday that “it might be nice if they paid a little more attention to the world.”

Trudeau, elected in October, made the remarks after being asked what Canadians don’t like about the United States.

“Having a little more of an awareness of what’s going on in the rest of the world, I think is, is what many Canadians would hope for Americans,” he said in a full transcript released to The Associated Press.

Trudeau’s comment drew a sharp response from Conservative M.P. Jason Kenney who referred to it in a Twitter post as “regrettably smug.”

“Both CDA & the USA have virtues & flaws, but pls don’t suggest that we ‘pay more attention’ to the world, that’s manifestly untrue,” Kenney tweeted.

The “60 Minutes” profile of Trudeau will air just days before he travels to the White House for a state visit.

Trudeau said Canadians must be aware of at least one other country, the United States, because of its importance.

“I think we sometimes like to think that, you know, Americans will pay attention to us from time to time, too,” he said.

He also seemed to take a jab at an unnamed U.S. presidential candidate whose rise he attributed to Americans’ lack of knowledge of foreign affairs.

A spokeswoman for Trudeau said she didn’t immediately know what candidate Trudeau was referring to.

The “60 Minutes” interview airs Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.

A promotional blurb on the CBS’s website describes Trudeau as “a scion of Canadian political royalty” from a family often compared to the Kennedys in the United States.

—With files from The Canadian Press