Trudeau addresses global challenges, champions inclusive and sustainable growth at the G20

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo: Trudeau's Twitter

PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday concluded his participation at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, where he worked to spur progress on global challenges affecting people, like climate change and food and energy insecurity, and made a series of funding announcements. He also raised the importance of the rule of law.

Trudeau underscored the importance of collective action to accelerate economic growth that benefits everyone. He stressed the urgent need for G20 partners to step up as the impacts of climate change worsen global food, economic, and energy insecurity, and drive supply chain challenges. He expressed concern for the G20 partners and other countries who have also suffered from extreme floods and wildfires in recent months, and spoke to the devastating impact of the wildfires that have ravaged Canadian provinces and territories this summer.

During the G20 Summit, the Prime Minister reaffirmed Canada’s unwavering support for the rules-based international order and the global trade and economic progress that rely on it. He condemned Russia’s brutal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine in the strongest possible terms and stressed that the most vulnerable in our societies are affected most by the war’s global impacts. He said to co-operate globally to grow the economy, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and maintain the integrity and effectiveness of the G20, we must be united in calls for Russia to end its illegal war in Ukraine. Trudeau stated that Canada will never recognize the results of the ongoing sham elections held by Russia in Ukraine, which are nothing but a cynical attempt to legitimize military conquest under the guise of democracy.

At the Summit, Trudeau advocated for stronger and more inclusive multilateral institutions and welcomed the African Union’s membership in the G20, calling for a greater voice for developing countries on the global stage. The Prime Minister also took this opportunity to meet with the Chairperson of the African Union (AU), Azali Assoumani, to congratulate the AU on their leadership in multilateralism and representing the Global South.

The Prime Minister and the other G20 leaders released a joint statement making a collective commitment to accelerate sustainable growth, work to reform international financial institutions for the 21st century, support digital transformation in our public institutions, and ensure equal rights for women and girls in all their diversity.

To help achieve the SDGs around the world, including by addressing the impacts of climate change, improving food security, and empowering all women and girls, Trudeau announced that Canada will provide:

  • Up to $63 million in funding for five new Partnering for Climate projects that will use nature-based solutions to support climate change adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa, help to build climate-resilient economies, protect and increase biodiversity, and empower women and girls;
  • $7.7 million to fund inclusive, sustainable development of agricultural value chains in Bolivia to help improve resilience for vulnerable Indigenous populations in the face of climate change and food insecurity;
  • $7 million to the Catalytic Climate Finance Facility to bolster climate finance projects in developing countries and support projects that address the impacts of climate change on economically vulnerable groups, particularly women and girls;
  • $15.7 million in funding to help finance and grow women-led agricultural enterprises in Nigeria;
  • $15 million in funding to help bolster food security in the Democratic Republic of Congo and increase incomes for women in the industry; and
  • $22 million in funding to improve school nutrition in Burkina Faso, helping to alleviate chronic food and nutrition insecurity in the country and address the nutrition and education needs of the most vulnerable, especially girls.

Trudeau said: “The theme of this year’s G20 meeting, ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, called on all of us to reckon with the critical global crises we’re facing today, and to pull together as one to build a better world for future generations. Over the last two days, we have reaffirmed that we will always work to defend peace and security, tackle climate change, create good jobs, and drive economic growth that benefits everyone.”

Quick Facts:
  • The Prime Minister’s attendance at the G20 in India concludes a series of successful engagements in the Indo-Pacific region, where he participated in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, and met with many of the region’s leaders, including the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, to advance progress on the Indo-Pacific strategy and welcome a new era of Canada-ASEAN relations as Canada was elevated to a strategic partner.
  • The Prime Minister also announced several important new trade and investment initiatives in the Indo-Pacific, deepening Canada’s relationship with the region and advancing Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. He visited Singapore to meet with the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, and business leaders.
  • This is the ninth G20 Summit attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
  • The G20 is an important platform to discuss global economic, financial, and trade policy issues. G20 members are the world’s major economies and represent all inhabited continents, with 80 per cent of world GDP, 75 per cent of global trade, and 60 per cent of the world’s population.
  • The G20 includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, the European Union, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The African Union, Spain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates were among the guests invited by India to participate in the G20 this year.
  • While at the G20, Prime Minister Trudeau met with:
  • To illustrate the theme of India’s G20 Presidency, “One Earth, One Family, One Future”, and to showcase the cultural diversity of G20 members and guest countries, the G20 Summit displayed an impressive suite of cultural projects from participating countries. Canada’s contributions included:
    • The Sea Monster Transformation Mask from master carver Calvin ‘Nasnamus’ Hunt, from British Columbia;
    • A two-dimensional reproduction of L’Hommage à Rosa Luxembourg, by Quebec painter, Jean Paul Riopelle;
    • Select images from the National Film Board of Canada’s video productions on intangible heritage from the Canada 150 Anthem, and a segment on natural heritage from the O Canada #1 National Anthem: “With Glowing Hearts”;
    • The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and a photograph of the Honourable Pierre Elliott Trudeau signing the Proclamation of the Constitution Act, as representations of our democratic institutions;
    • A poem from the Parliament’s 10th poet in residence, Marie-Célie Agnant, entitled “Time To Go Back in Time” (submitted for the publication of the G20 Anthology of Poetry, Under the Same Sky)
    • A digital representation of “Letter to the Future,” from photographer Jessica Houston (submitted for the G20 contemporary art exhibition, Together We Art).

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