{"id":422119,"date":"2026-01-20T20:31:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T20:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/422119\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T20:31:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T20:31:15","slug":"justin-trudeau-talks-canadas-soft-power-in-davos-as-katy-perry-looks-on-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/422119\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Trudeau talks Canada\u2019s \u2018soft power\u2019 in Davos as Katy Perry looks on – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau<\/a> was accompanied by international pop star Katy Perry<\/a> as he spoke about the importance of \u201csoft power\u201d in geopolitics at the World Economic Forum in Davos<\/a>, Switzerland on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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Perry sat in the front row as Trudeau spoke about Canada not interfering in other countries\u2019 domestic policy to seize oil and assert influence.<\/p>\n

Soft power, the focus of Trudeau\u2019s address to a group of international politicians and wealthy corporate heads, refers to a country\u2019s ability to wield tools such as music, food, sports and other cultural commodities to strengthen its global reputation and relationships with other nations.<\/p>\n

Hard power, by contrast, relies on military force and economic sanctions and may be viewed as coercive.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKaty Perry looks on as former prime minister Justin Trudeau delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tTHE CANADIAN PRESS\/Sean Kilpatrick\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Trudeau said Ukraine\u2019s stand against Russia\u2019s invasion was \u201csoft power in action,\u201d and that Canada\u2019s solidarity with Ukraine underscores a commitment to an international rules-based order.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNever underestimate the resolve, the motivation and strength of people standing up to defend their sovereignty, their identity, their very existence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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The former Liberal leader recounted how Canada has advocated for free trade that prioritizes environmental protection, high labour standards and women\u2019s equality while rejecting the notion that U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> could make Canada the 51st state<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The couple, who were first seen in public<\/a> in Montreal last July, left the event together but did not stop to speak with a long line of journalists.<\/p>\n

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During his speech, Trudeau said he was inspired by how Canadians stood united in the face of threats to their country\u2019s sovereignty, including by seeking out made-in-Canada labels in grocery stores and other retail spaces.<\/p>\n

He used a personal anecdote to illustrate this soft power, and described going to a rooftop bar with an \u201cAmerican girl\u201d \u2014 Perry \u2014 who ordered a \u201cJack and Coke,\u201d and was told there was no American alcohol on the menu.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tTrump publishes text message from France\u2019s Macron on Greenland\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s an example of Canadians standing up for themselves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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The World Economic Forum is a major event in Switzerland where international leaders and wealthy corporate leaders meet to discuss global affairs and economic development.<\/p>\n

The event comes as the leaders of all 27 European countries prepare for an \u201cextraordinary meeting<\/a>\u201d later this week in Davos, European Council President Antonio Costa said on Sunday.<\/a> The meeting will take place in response to Trump\u2019s escalating threats to take Greenland.<\/p>\n

Trump has not ruled out using force against Greenland and has also expressed a desire to purchase the island. Over the weekend, he implemented 10 per cent tariffs<\/a> on eight European nations that opposed his pursuit of Greenland. They are scheduled to rise to 25 per cent in June if no deal is reached.<\/p>\n

Trump has given several reasons for wanting to seize control of Greenland \u2014 namely U.S. national security.<\/p>\n

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In a post on Truth Social<\/a> on Tuesday, Trump accused the U.K. of threatening U.S. security by \u201cgiving away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.K. recently reached a deal with Mauritius to settle a long-standing dispute over the Chagos Islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean that has been British territory since 1814. The agreement grants Mauritius sovereignty over the land, while allowing the U.K. and the U.S. to retain control of the military base Trump mentioned, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Trump also indicated he wanted to control Greenland because he was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, telling Norway\u2019s prime minister that he no longer felt \u201can obligation to think purely of Peace,\u201d two European officials told The Associated Press on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u2014 With files from The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former prime minister Justin Trudeau was accompanied by international pop star Katy Perry as he spoke about the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[172231,75,43,25162,4417,44,714,41,39,42,40,519],"class_list":["post-422119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-davos","tag-entertainment","tag-headlines","tag-justin-trudeau","tag-katy-perry","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-trending"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}