International, gemasulawesi – Tensions between Alberta and the Canadian federal government over tax and environmental policy mean there are few points Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can win among Western voters and provincial leaders.
According to the Guardian on Tuesday, tension was palpable as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Trudeau tried and failed that most basic of political customs: the handshake greeting.
During their first official meeting, the prime minister seemed convinced that a handshake between the two men was imminent.
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Both leaders raised their hands, but at the last moment Smith apparently changed his mind, leaving his palms down.
Without flinching, Trudeau grabbed her hand and held it in place, resting his thumb on her hand as he smiled at the camera and Smith managed a weak smile.
Smith, in Ottawa with other prime ministers for a major announcement on health care funding, has been one of the country's most vocal critics of Trudeau and his government's policies, recently channeling his anger at him in a victory in the United Conservative Party leadership race to become prime minister.
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Smith's government also recently passed controversial legislation, known as the Alberta Sovereignty Bill, that would give his government the power to order provincial agencies to ignore federal law.
While Trudeau is no stranger to hostility in the west, he's also no stranger to awkward handshakes.
Editor: Muhammad Azmi Mursalim
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