Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has cancelled his plans to attend the World Economic Forum at Davos in the Swiss Alps this month.
His office also says he will not head to Washington for the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump.
Trudeau will dispatch ministers from his cabinet to both events.
In the meantime, the prime minister will be busy criss-crossing Canada “to remain connected with Canadians,” a spokesman said Friday.
Trudeau attended the swish retreat at Davos in 2016 and would later say that some of the connections he made there with wealthy investors and global influencers helped make Canada a more attractive destination for new investment. This year’s World Economic Forum is to be held Jan. 17-20.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper, by way of comparison, attended the Davos gathering twice during his time in office.
Cameron Ahmad, a press secretary to Trudeau, said that while the prime minster would like to attend all of those events, the domestic tour is his priority.
“This tour will provide many great opportunities to engage directly with Canadians and will now be taking place over a longer period than previously planned,” Ahmad said in an e-mailed statement.
Trudeau is likely to be on the road inside Canada for up to seven days over the next three weeks.
The prime minister has been on a family holiday since Dec. 23, part of which he spent at Harrington Lake, an official residence just north of the nation’s capital in Gatineau Park, Que. He and his wife and three children also stayed as guests on the Aga Khan’s private $100-million island in the Bahamas.
The first leg of Trudeau’s tour, the Canadian Press reported, is to start at the end of next week with Trudeau travelling Highway 401 from Ottawa to London, Ont., with an overnight at Canadian Forces Base Trenton.
That will be followed up by stops in British Columbia, Quebec and the Prairies, with events still being planned for the Atlantic provinces.
Trudeau will convene his cabinet for a two-day retreat in Calgary at the end of the month.
Parliament is to resume sitting on Jan. 30.
Source: National-Post