After the meeting, the French Prime Minister said that foreign intervention is a “big challenge”.

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OTTAWA – Attempts at foreign intervention are a “huge challenge” that requires countries to keep their citizens informed, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Thursday during an official visit to Ottawa.

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“We're seeing this in many places,” Attal said, including online, where cyberattacks and disinformation are often part of the foreign intervention landscape.

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Last month, the French government said it was experiencing “unprecedented intensity” of attacks and set up a special crisis center to restore online services.

“We need to warn everyone about the dangers of this intervention,” Attal said at a joint news conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

It comes a day after Trudeau testified at a Canadian inquiry into attempts to meddle in the last two federal elections.

In his testimony, Trudeau described pushing back on the intelligence he was given, including by asking detailed questions about how substantiated it was.

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Asked about the testimony Thursday, Trudeau said leaders need to think critically and question the information they're given, but he still has confidence in Canada's security apparatus.

“No government, no leader, should just be a passive recipient of information and intelligence,” he said, adding that leaders have a role to play in “questioning sources and resolving contradictions.”

“This is actually part of the work that we all have to do to make sure that everything is done to keep Canadians safe,” Trudeau continued.

“It's a very active role that we play.”

Trudeau was also asked to comment on concerns about right-wing populism that is widespread in Europe.

He said that when it comes to pushback in French, he is confident that members of the public will be able to see through messages of division and hatred in deciding what kind of country they want to build.

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In a veiled allusion to the arguments of his conservative political opponents, Trudeau said optimism was not “impressive” on social media and he believed voters would refuse to “burn it all down and go home.”

During the meetings, Attal and Trudeau agreed on a set of new initiatives to deepen bilateral ties between Canada and France.

Chief among them is France's joining Canada on the global issue of carbon pricing, an attempt to rally the international community around a signature climate policy that will cause Trudeau major political pain at home.

The European Union has previously signed along with the UK, Germany, New Zealand, Chile, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and South Korea.

France and Canada are also committed to working closely on forest fires and clean energy issues.

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