Asked about how he would handle his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh joked on Thursday that he hopes it never comes to that.

“I hope he gets impeached before I get to speak to him,” Singh told Canadians at a town hall in Nanaimo, B.C.

The statement prompted cheers from the audience, but Singh quickly added it was a “tongue-in-cheek” remark. The NDP leader said he is opposed to Trump’s “divisive” policies and rhetoric.

“It’s disgusting that a president could inflame hatred against people, be so divisive. It’s horrible that someone in a position of power like him would allow for kids to be stripped from the arms of their parents, from their moms, to be put in cages,” he said.

“That needs to be denounced. You can’t allow someone like that to do that without any sort of repercussion, without anyone else condemning that.”

Singh’s comments came amid pending impeachment proceedings in the United States. A newly declassified complaint from a whistleblower accused Trump of trying to “solicit interference from a foreign country” to boost his re-election.

Speaking to reporters during a campaign stop in B.C. this week, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was asked whether he thought the possibility of impeachment would impact the U.S-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Trudeau did not directly address the impeachment proceedings.

“We’ve always been focused on the ratification of USMCA in a way that tries to go beyond the partisan differences in the United States right now,” he said. “Our focus remains on ensuring that this deal, which is good for Canadians but also good for Americans and Mexicans, moves forward. And that’s what we’re going to remain focused on.”

“In regards to specific concerns, we have, right now, a NAFTA in place that is securing our access to the most important partner and our most important market and secures nine million jobs,” he added.

Global News has reached out to Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and the Green party’s Elizabeth May on whether they are monitoring impeachment proceedings and how they believe the proceedings may impact trade.

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