Trudeau blames ‘MAGA influence’ for Ukraine skepticism on Canada’s right

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blamed “MAGA influence” on Friday for falling support for aid to Ukraine among Canadian conservatives.

“The real story is the rise of a right-wing, American MAGA-influenced thinking that has made Canadian Conservatives — who used to be among the strongest defenders of Ukraine, I’ll admit it — turn their backs on something Ukraine needs in its hour of need,” Trudeau said Friday, according to the CBC.

The prime minister said politicians in the U.S., Europe and Canada who do not back aid for Ukraine are “starting to parrot Russian disinformation and misinformation and propaganda.”

Canada’s conservatives have started to move against further Ukraine aid in recent weeks, a stark shift from the country’s early near-unanimous support for the war effort against Russia. Canada boasts one of the largest diasporas of Ukrainians in the world.

“All Canadians should be concerned when the Conservative Party of Canada and Pierre Poilievre turn their backs on history, turn their backs on our friends and allies, turn their backs on the international rules-based order and our support for the UN charter on territorial integrity,” Trudeau said.

There has been a growing divide among those on the American right about aid to Ukraine. The U.S. Congress is facing a struggle over providing aid to Ukraine and Israel amid its conflict with Palestinian militant group Hamas. 

“I don’t think there’s one simple way it’s going to move,” said Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. “It’s all in play.”