Brussels – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directed a call to European leaders to work together as democracies in confronting Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine and addressing the growing doubts citizens feel about the future.

In his speech to European parliamentarians this afternoon, the Prime Minister said these economic uncertainties have been building over years, but are now fueled by rising global inflation.

Trudeau said economic frustrations threaten world stability and lead to a deep uncertainty about the future and distrust in government.

He also said democracies face a new threat from Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.

Trudeau added that Canada stands with the people of Ukraine at a time when Europe faces its greatest security threat since World War II.

He says Western countries must collectively provide more humanitarian aid to families affected by the war, send military equipment and assistance to Ukraine, and tighten economic sanctions on Putin and his supporters in Russia and Belarus.

The speech comes on the first day of a quick trip to Brussels and Trudeau's second visit to the continent this month.

Two weeks ago, Trudeau raised a similar issue in a speech to an international audience at the Munich Security Conference, where he called for renewed commitment to democracy in the face of rising authoritarianism.

The speech complemented the address the Prime Minister gave in 2017 in Hamburg, Germany, which outlined his vision for foreign policy and his often-stated belief in the international system based on rules and democratic principles.

Trudeau will join other leaders in NATO on Thursday to coordinate the military response of coalition forces to Russia's attack on Ukraine and will meet with his fellow G7 leaders before returning to Canada on Friday.

Two weeks ago, Trudeau toured Europe, holding meetings in London, Berlin, Warsaw, and Poland, and visited Canadian troops leading a multinational NATO battle group in Latvia.

Trudeau will face pressure to increase the Canadian defense budget, which NATO estimates at 1.39 percent of the country's GDP in 2021.

Andrea Charron, director of the Defence and Security Studies program at the University of Manitoba, said: "Ukraine is helping make defence spending more acceptable to Canadians."

"I think we are in desperate need of ground-based air defence capabilities and a replacement for the fighter jets (CF-18)."

The Prime Minister's office said in a statement before departing Ottawa on Tuesday that Trudeau spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about "more international assistance ahead of upcoming NATO and G7 meetings."

In the same context, the two leaders called on Russia to stop targeting civilians, withdraw its military forces from Ukraine, and engage in diplomacy with Ukraine.

In a tweet, Zelensky said he specifically spoke about the "humanitarian disaster" unfolding in the besieged city of Mariupol, and the "importance of effective security guarantees" for Ukraine.

Edited by: Dima Abu Khair