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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards Gala dinner at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City, Tuesday September 19, 2017.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be in campaign mode Wednesday as he promotes Canada's bid for a United Nations Security Council seat on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York City.

Mr. Trudeau will hold a series of bilateral meetings with the leaders of seven nations: Indonesia, Uganda, Netherlands, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica and Tajikistan. He will "work to advance" Canada's bid for a seat on the UN Security Council during his discussions, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa Tuesday morning, Mr. Trudeau said Canada is full steam ahead with its bid for a 2021-22 seat on the UN's most powerful branch.

Lloyd Axworthy and Allan Rock: How Canada can win a UN Security Council seat

"Canada knows that we have an important role to play on the world stage, and being part of the UN Security Council in 2021 will ensure that an important voice gets heard and resonates around the world," Mr. Trudeau said before departing for New York.

As a part of his claim that "Canada is back," last year Mr. Trudeau announced Canada's intention to seek one of the 10 rotating, non-permanent seats, on the UN Security Council in 2021-22. Canada hasn't held a seat on the body since 2000. The previous Conservative government withdrew Canada's candidacy for a seat in 2010 when it became clear it would lose to Portugal.

The Prime Minister's Office said Mr. Trudeau will discuss specific bilateral issues with each leader and continue to advance Canada's position as a constructive multilateral partner.

Mr. Trudeau will use his meeting with Indonesia to raise the plight of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have been forced to flee violence in Myanmar over recent weeks, the PMO said. He will also discuss "diplomatic paths forward" on the democratic crisis in Venezuela with Latin American partners.

Mr. Trudeau also attended a conference hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where he admitted that his government is struggling to retain the young women the Liberal Party recruited to run in the 2015 federal election.

"We went out and recruited a lot of great young women to run for politics and they did and were successful. And now we're having a bit of a challenge … around retention. As people are realizing that, 'Wow, this is a really nasty place to work … Parliaments are built for elderly white grandpas, right?'" Mr. Trudeau said in a discussion with Ms. Gates.

Mr. Trudeau's comments come after Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould announced she is pregnant. He said his government is working to find ways to enable her to continue to fill her cabinet role while also being a "great mom."

He will end his trip by addressing the UN General Assembly on Thursday.

The Prime Minister is joined by his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, and six cabinet ministers in New York.

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