New Delhi, Feb 19: Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he shared stark similarities with United States of America President Donald Trump on the economic front. Trudeau claimed their policies are empowering the middle class.

Trudeau's remark came while interacting with a gathering at IIM-Ahmedabad on Monday. According to the 46-year-old head of the state, his government has enacted a similar approach towards the future, investment and employment, as adopted by the Trump regime. "The aim is to empower the middle class," he added.

Despite Trudeau's claim, the two countries stand at opposite grounds on the issue of immigration. While Canada is being hailed by the international community for its liberal approach towards the persecuted refugees, the US under Trump has enacted a protectionist policy, viewing the immigrants as a threat to the country's internal security.

Speaking on immigration at the IIM-Ahmedabad event, the Canadian PM said, "More countries need to do more to welcome immigrants not because that is the right thing to do, because refugees who flee the persecution in their country for a better life in another, are extremely grateful to the country that welcomes them. They work very hard and contribute tremendously to the growth of the country that welcomed them. That is the Canadian story."

An approximately 1.4 million migrants of Indian-origin are currently settled in Canada.

Trudeau, who is on an eight-day visit to India, said the Indo-Canadian bilateral relations has a much larger potential to grow. The current bilateral trade between the two nation amounts to $8 billion in goods and $2 billion in services.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 19, 2018 06:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).