MANILA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his country will remain a strong member of the campaign against the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria.

Trudeau and United States (US) President Barack Obama are speaking to reporters after their first formal meeting since Trudeau took office earlier this month.

Trudeau ran on a promise to pull Canada's fighter jets out of the US-led air campaign against the IS.

But Trudeau says Canada will keep doing "more than its part" to defend against IS.

He has recently pledged to send more military trainers to Iraq as part of that effort.

Obama says Trudeau is a "great boost of energy" for Canada's political landscape. He says he invited Trudeau for a White House visit that will hopefully come early next year.

Justin Trudeau, the son of late Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, became Canada's newly elected Prime Minister after his Liberal Party won a majority of Parliament's 338 seats.

Read: Canada's Islamic State combat mission to end, new PM Trudeau tells Obama

The premier told US President Barack Obama that Canadian fighter jets would withdraw from fighting the IS group in Iraq and Syria, but gave no timeline for the withdrawal.

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...