Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was excluded from a new economic Indo-Pacific pact by US President Joe Biden intended to counter China’s domination of the region.

Despite being a pacific power, a dozen major and developing countries participated in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity without Canada. Participants included the US, Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and others. 

“The future of the 21st-century economy is going to be largely written in the Indo-Pacific, in our region,” said Biden. 

“The nations represented here today and those who will join this framework in the future are signing up to work toward an economic vision that will deliver for all our people.”

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called the pact the “most significant” for Pacific nations.

“It is by any count the most significant international economic engagement that the United States has ever had in this region,” said Raimondo.

Trudeau must be used to being snubbed in international negotiations as of late. Recently, he was excluded from the AUKUS (Australia-UK-US) alliance on nuclear defence.

To save face, the prime minister claimed that Canada does not need nuclear submarines, so it isn’t interested in joining the group. However, now that Canada has been left out of yet another international pact, questions remain about why Canada is not seen as a serious partner.

“This is a deal for nuclear submarines, which Canada is not currently or anytime soon in the market for,” said Trudeau. 

During a G20 meeting in 2021, Trudeau was personally snubbed by another world leader after Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro initially turned down a handshake offer from the prime minister.