Returning to a familiar theme, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau castigated “populist right-wing forces” for creating “fear, division and anxiety” while he claims to want to “understand” and “solve it.”

This comes after sweeping gains made by right-wing parties in the EU legislative elections over the weekend. The overwhelming support for Marine Le Pen's National Rally party in France led current Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron to call for snap elections in July as he felt the votes were a rebuke of his leadership. Belgium's prime minister resigned after the votes in his nation, while Germany's AfD party took an unprecedented second place in that country. The results were seen as EU citizens' defiance against unfettered immigration, economic woes and a progressive climate agenda.

“We have seen around the world a rise of populist right wing forces in just about every democracy that we've seen, and it is of concern to see political parties choosing to instrumentalize anger, fear, division, anxiety,” Trudeau told reporters Monday.

“My approach has always been to respond to it, to understand it and to look to solve and to roll up our sleeves and work harder, with ambition for this country and for a future. And I continue to be convinced that Canadians are thoughtful about the challenges we're facing and ready to see them solved rather than just allow themselves to have their anger amplified, without any solutions.”

Trudeau remains at the center of a spy scandal, with opposition parties demanding that he name the names of “elected officials” who are cited in a report as having “wittingly” worked or spied for foreign powers. 

The public has seen a redacted copy of the report while Trudeau has known the identity of the MPs for weeks.