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Dalai Lama congratulates Canadian PM Trudeau on party’s election win

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Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and His Holiness the Dalai Lama during a 2004 meeting in Toronto (Photo/CP)

By Tenzin Dharpo

DHARAMSHALA, Sept. 22: The exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has congratulated Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on his party’s win in the snap elections conducted on Monday.

The Tibetan leader wrote, “I appreciate the leadership you have shown in the face of challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected so many people around the globe. I have also long admired Canada’s policy of taking compassionate action to welcome vulnerable people from troubled parts of the world on humanitarian grounds. As an honorary Canadian citizen myself, I feel proud of such generous, humanitarian gestures.

“It has been a privilege for me to have been able to visit Canada over the years. The friendship and affection that my Canadian brothers and sisters have shown me have touched me deeply.”

The octogenarian leader also expressed his gratefulness for the state-sponsored program that took in hundreds of Tibetan refugees over the years. “On this occasion, may I take the opportunity to express gratitude for the warm welcome Canada has shown Tibetan refugees since the time your late father was Prime Minister. I understand that, by and large, Tibetans have been making a positive contribution to Canada’s multicultural society,” the Dalai Lama wrote.

Trudeau’s Liberal party won the national elections but failed to secure the majority as anticipated. The Canadian PM’s bet to secure a majority government on the face of his governance during the pandemic failed to pay off. Elections Canada, the body that runs the elections, projected that it cost tax payers C$612 million ($477.60 million) for the polls, C$110 million more than the 2019 election, which cost C$502 million.

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