Dalai Lama greets Trudeau as Canada's new PM

Dharamsala, Oct 21  Welcoming the incoming Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Wednesday congratulated him on his party's victory.

In his letter, the Dalai Lama said during his visits to Canada over many years he has been touched by the affection and friendship shown by Canadians from all walks of life.

The Nobel Peace laureate said Canada extended a warm welcome to Tibetan refugees for resettlement on humanitarian grounds from the early 1970s onwards.

He said he was sure it would be a source of pride to Trudeau's late father that, following in his footsteps, his son too has been elected as the prime minister.

Tibetan prime minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay also congratulated the Canadian prime minister-elect.

"On behalf of the Central Tibetan Administration and the Tibetan people, I would like to congratulate you and your party's decisive victory in the Canadian general election," he wrote in his congratulatory letter.

"As you have rightly pointed out, dialogue, not confrontation, is the key to resolving the critical situation in Tibet," Sangay added.

The Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959. The Tibetan administration-in-exile is based in this northern Indian hill town.