Canada's minority government faces first test

A chastened Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reconvened parliament on Thursday to unveil his legislative agenda in the first test of his minority government.

After a nasty election fight in October and rejecting a formal coalition, the youthful premier must now rely on the support of opposition parties on a case-by-case basis to stay in power.

That starts with giving strength to his agenda, outlined in a throne speech Thursday by Governor General Julie Payette.

"It will be a real test of his leadership," Lori Williams, a politics professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, told AFP.

Trudeau, she said, "is used to having a great deal of power and controlling things much more centrally.

"There's no question that he'll need to be willing to make compromises with others and be conciliatory." Trudeau just returned from NATO talks where a hot mic gaffe revived his feud with US President Donald Trump.

Trump branded Trudeau "two-faced" after allied leaders were caught on video at a Buckingham Palace reception mocking the American president's rambling press appearances.

The Canadian leader insisted it won't complicate relations, including ratification of a continental trade deal with the United States and Mexico.

But opposition parties tarred Trudeau for "weakening" Canada abroad.

A feud with China is also weighing on him.

Ottawa must make a decision on allowing Chinese tech giant Huawei to supply its 5G networks.

At the same time, Trudeau is pushing for the release of two Canadian nationals detained in apparent retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou during a flight stopover in Vancouver on a US warrant.

Since returning to Ottawa after a poor campaign performance Trudeau has kept a low profile, meeting privately with opposition leaders and stakeholders to try to find common ground.

It's a change from his first term when the debonair statesman exploded onto the world stage in 2015 with a strong majority and a firm liberal voice as a counterbalance to the rising political right, declaring: "Canada is back!"