Justin Trudeau
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Justin Pierre James TrudeauTemplate:Efn (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament (MP) for Papineau from 2008 until 2025.
Trudeau was born in Ottawa, Ontario, during the first premiership of his father, Pierre Trudeau. He attended Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from McGill University and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of British Columbia. After graduating, he taught at the secondary school level in Vancouver before returning to Montreal in 2002 to further his studies. He served as chair for the youth charity Katimavik and as director of the not-for-profit Canadian Avalanche Association. In 2006, he was appointed as chair of the Liberal Party's Task Force on Youth Renewal. Trudeau was elected to represent the riding of Papineau in the House of Commons in the 2008 federal election. He became the Liberal Party's Official Opposition critic for youth and multiculturalism in 2009 and critic for citizenship and immigration in 2010. In 2011, he was appointed as a critic for secondary education and sport. In 2013, Trudeau was elected as the leader of the Liberal Party. He led the party to a majority government in the 2015 federal election, bringing the party from a third place finish in the previous election and with the largest-ever numerical increase of seats by any party in a Canadian election. He became the second-youngest prime minister in Canadian history and the first to be the child of a previous prime minister.
Upon assuming office, Trudeau created the Canada Child Benefit, legalized medical assistance in dying, legalized recreational marijuana, advanced Senate reform through the establishment of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, and introduced the federal carbon tax. In foreign policy, Trudeau's government resettled refugees of the Syrian civil war, signed the Paris Agreement on climate change, and negotiated trade agreements including the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). He was found twice to be in violation of conflict of interest law by Canada's ethics commissioner—first in the Aga Khan affair, and later in the SNC-Lavalin affair.
Trudeau's Liberal Party was re-elected with a minority government in the 2019 federal election. From 2020, he led Canada through the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recession by enacting financial aid programs, a nationwide vaccination campaign, and military support. His government also introduced a ban on "assault-style" firearms following the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks and launched a national $10-a-day child care program. He was investigated for a third time by the ethics commissioner for his role in the WE Charity scandal, but was cleared of wrongdoing. Trudeau led the Liberals to another minority government in the 2021 federal election. He subsequently invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history in response to the Freedom Convoy protests; the Federal Court later ruled this action unjustified and in violation of Charter rights. In early 2022, his party entered a confidence and supply agreement with the New Democratic Party (NDP), which resulted in the Canadian Dental Care Plan and a framework for national pharmacare before the NDP withdrew from the agreement in late 2024. On the international stage, Trudeau responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russia and authorizing humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. His premiership concluded amid a trade war with the United States, to which he responded by implementing 25% retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods.
Following a steady decline in popular support, the sudden resignation of deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland in December 2024 and an ensuing political crisis, Trudeau announced in January 2025 that he would resign as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party. He advised the Governor General to prorogue Parliament until March 24, while the party held a leadership election. Trudeau remained Liberal leader until Mark Carney was elected as his replacement on March 9. He resigned as prime minister five days later and stood down as an MP at the 2025 federal election.
Early life
Ancestry and birth
On June 23, 1971, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) announced that Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's wife of four months, Margaret Trudeau (née Sinclair),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> was pregnant and due in December.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Justin Trudeau was born on December 25, 1971, at 9:27 pm EST at the Ottawa Civic Hospital.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He is the second child in Canadian history to be born to a prime minister in office; the first was John A. Macdonald's daughter Margaret Mary Theodora Macdonald (February 8, 1869 – January 28, 1933). Trudeau's younger brothers Alexandre "Sacha" (born December 25, 1973) and Michel (October 2, 1975 – November 13, 1998) were the third and fourth.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="English2007">Template:Cite book</ref>
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Trudeau is predominantly of Scottish and French Canadian descent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His grandfathers were businessman Charles-Émile Trudeau<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Scottish-born James Sinclair,<ref name="surprised wedding">Template:Cite news</ref> who was minister of fisheries in the cabinet of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Trudeau's maternal great-grandfather Thomas Bernard was born in Makassar, Indonesia<ref name="mother">Template:Cite news</ref> and immigrated to Penticton, British Columbia, in 1906 at age 15 with his family.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Through the Bernard family, kinsmen of the Earls of Bandon,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Trudeau is the fifth great-grandson of Major-General William Farquhar,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a leader in the founding of modern Singapore; Trudeau also has remote ethnic Malaccan<ref>"Stamford Raffles was not above sneering at Farquhar's Malay wife and the children by her he had acknowledged. 'The Maya connexion', he termed them archly."Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Nias<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> ancestry.
Trudeau was baptized with his father's niece Anne Rouleau-Danis as godmother and his mother's brother-in-law Thomas Walker as godfather,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> at Ottawa's Notre Dame Basilica on the afternoon of January 16, 1972, which marked his first public appearance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and given the names "Justin Pierre James".<ref name="Grafstein 2019 p. 1-PT102">Template:Cite book</ref> On April 14, 1972, Trudeau's father and mother hosted a gala at the National Arts Centre, at which visiting U.S. president Richard Nixon said, "I'd like to toast the future prime minister of Canada, to Justin Pierre Trudeau" to which Pierre Trudeau responded that should his son ever assume the role, he hoped he would have "the grace and skill of the president".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Earlier that day, first lady Pat Nixon had visited him in his nursery and gifted him a stuffed toy Snoopy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Childhood
Trudeau's parents announced their separation in 1977, when he was five years old; his father was given primary custody.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There were repeated rumours of a reconciliation for many years afterwards.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, his mother eventually filed for a no-fault divorce which the Supreme Court of Ontario granted in 1984;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> his father had announced his intention to retire as prime minister a month earlier.<ref name="WoodgerBurg2006">Template:Cite book</ref> Eventually, his parents came to an amicable joint-custody arrangement and learned to get along quite well. Interviewed in October 1979, his nanny Dianne Lavergne was quoted, "Justin is a mommy's boy, so it's not easy, but children's hurts mend very quickly. And they're lucky kids, anyway."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Of his mother and father's marriage, Trudeau said in 2009, "They loved each other incredibly, passionately, completely. But there was 30 years between them, and my mom never was an equal partner in what encompassed my father's life, his duty, his country."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau has three half-siblings, Kyle and Alicia, from his mother's remarriage to Fried Kemper,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Sarah, from his father's relationship with Deborah Coyne.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Trudeau lived at 24 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, the official residence of Canada's prime minister, from his birth until his father's government was defeated in the 1979 federal election. The Trudeaus were expected to move into Stornoway, the residence of the leader of the Official Opposition, but because of flooding in the basement, Prime Minister Joe Clark offered them Harrington Lake, the prime minister's official country retreat in Gatineau Park, with the expectation they would move into Stornoway at the start of July.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, the repairs were not complete, so Pierre Trudeau took a prolonged vacation with his sons to the Nova Scotia summer home of his friend, Member of Parliament Don Johnston, and later sent his sons to stay with their maternal grandparents in North Vancouver for the rest of the summer while he slept at his friend's Ottawa apartment. Trudeau and his brothers returned to Ottawa for the start of the school year but lived only on the top floor of Stornoway while repairs continued on the bottom floor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His mother purchased and moved into a new home nearby at 95 Victoria Street in Ottawa's New Edinburgh neighbourhood in September 1979.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Pierre Trudeau and his sons returned to the prime minister's official residence after the February 1980 election that returned him to the Prime Minister's Office.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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His father had intended Trudeau to begin his formal education at a French-language lycée, but Trudeau's mother convinced his father of the importance of sending their sons to a public school.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the end, Trudeau was enrolled in 1976 in the French immersion program at Rockcliffe Park Public School. It was the same school his mother had attended for two years while her father was a member of Parliament.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He could have been dropped off by limousine, but his parents elected he take the school bus albeit with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) car following.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Ottawa Citizen1">Template:Cite news</ref> This was followed by one year at the private Lycée Claudel d'Ottawa.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Camp Ahmek">Template:Cite web</ref>
After his father's retirement in June 1984, his mother remained at her New Edinburgh home while the rest of the family moved into his father's home at 1418 Pine Avenue, Montreal known as Cormier House;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the following autumn, he began attending the private Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, his father's alma mater. The school had begun as a Jesuit school but was non-denominational by the time Justin matriculated.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2008, Trudeau said that of all his early family outings he enjoyed camping with his father the most, because "that was where our father got to be just our father – a dad in the woods".<ref name="The Son Also Rises">Template:Cite web</ref> During the summers his father would send him and his brothers to Camp Ahmek, on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park, where he would later work in his first paid job as a camp counsellor.<ref name="Camp Ahmek" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Trudeau and his brothers were given shares in two numbered companies by their father: the first containing a portfolio of securities, from which they receive regular dividends, up to $20,000 per year; and the second which receives royalties from their father's autobiography and other sources, about $10,000 a year.<ref name="TrudeauEstate">Template:Cite news</ref> As of August 2011, the first numbered company had assets of $1.2 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Trudeau brothers were also given a country estate of about 50 hectares in the Laurentians with a home designed by the esteemed Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, and the Cormier House in Montreal.<ref name="TrudeauArchitecture">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="TrudeauEstate"/><ref name="CountryEstate">Template:Cite news</ref> The country estate land was estimated to be worth $2.7 million in 2016.<ref name="CountryEstate"/>
University and early career
Trudeau has a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature from McGill University and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of British Columbia. In his first year at McGill, Trudeau became acquainted with his future principal secretary, Gerald Butts, through their mutual friend, Jonathan Ablett.<ref name=HuffPostBio/> Butts invited Trudeau to join the McGill Debating Union.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They bonded while driving back to Montreal after a debate tournament at Princeton University.<ref name=HuffPostBio/> After graduation, Trudeau stayed in Vancouver where he became a substitute teacher at local schools such as Killarney Secondary and worked permanently as a French and math teacher at the private West Point Grey Academy. He became a roommate at the Douglas Lodge<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with fellow West Point Grey Academy faculty member and friend Christopher Ingvaldson.<ref name="HuffPostBio">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>"Justin Trudeau described by friends as down-to-earth and sensitive", Canadian Press, October 4, 2000, 03:25; Tonda MacCharles, "Son 'most like Pierre' relishes his privacy; While Liberals talk about dynasty, Justin looks forward to returning to teaching job", Kitchener-Waterloo Record, October 5, 2000, A06; Justin Trudeau, "Something I'm passionate about", The Globe and Mail, February 3, 2001, A11; Gloria Galloway, "Justin Trudeau delivers motivational speech to Ontario teachers", The Canadian Press, April 27, 2001, 14:50; "Students should learn to be brave, Trudeau says", Globe and Mail, April 28, 2001, A9.</ref> From 2002 to 2004, he studied engineering at the École Polytechnique de Montréal, affiliated with Université de Montréal, but did not graduate.<ref>"Justin Trudeau tells education conference he plans return to teaching", Canadian Press, February 28, 2004.</ref> He started a master's degree in environmental geography at McGill but withdrew from the program to seek public office.<ref>"Canada Votes 2011: Ridings: Papineau" Template:Webarchive, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved October 25, 2015.</ref>
In August 2000, Trudeau attended the Kokanee Summit in Creston, British Columbia, to raise funds in honour of his brother Michel Trudeau and other avalanche victims. After the event, an unsigned editorial in the Creston Valley Advance (a local newspaper) accused Trudeau of having groped an unnamed female reporter while at the music festival. The editorial stated Trudeau provided a "day-late" apology to the reporter, saying, "If I had known you were reporting for a national paper, I never would have been so forward".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2018, Trudeau was questioned about the groping incident but said he did not remember any negative incidents from that time. His apology and later statement about the event have been described as hypocritical, while responses to the story have described it as a witch hunt or non-story.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:External media In October 2000, Trudeau, then 28, emerged as a prominent figure after delivering a eulogy at his father's state funeral.<ref>"Justin Trudeau's eulogy for his father" Template:Webarchive, CBC News; "Text of the eulogy given by Justin Trudeau at his father's funeral Tuesday", Canadian Press, October 3, 2000.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Andre Picard and Mark Mickleburgh, "'Je t'aime, papa' THE SON: The very private Justin becomes a very public figure", The Globe and Mail, October 4, 2000, p. A1; Graham Fraser, "Trudeau children lead our farewell – Justin's eulogy a towering tribute at father's funeral", Toronto Star, October 4, 2000, p. 1.</ref> The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) received numerous calls to rebroadcast the speech after its initial transmission, and leading Quebec politician Claude Ryan described it as "perhaps ... the first manifestation of a dynasty".<ref>Tonda MacCharles, "Spotlight on Justin sparks talk of dynasty – Trudeau's final resting place", Toronto Star, October 5, 2000, pg. 1.</ref> A book issued by the CBC in 2003 included the speech in its list of significant Canadian events from the past fifty years.<ref>Willa McLean, "This just in ...; CBC broadcaster revisits momentous events of past 50 years", Kitchener-Waterloo Record, February 8, 2003, pg. G3.</ref>
In 2007, Trudeau starred in the two-part CBC Television miniseries The Great War, which gave an account of Canada's participation in the First World War. He portrayed his fifth cousin, twice removed,<ref>Nos Origines Template:Webarchive "Genealogy of Canada" IDs 475064 & 647509.</ref> Major Talbot Mercer Papineau, who was killed on October 30, 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau is one of several children of former prime ministers who have become Canadian media personalities. The others are Ben Mulroney (son of Brian Mulroney), Catherine Clark (daughter of Joe Clark), and Trudeau's younger brother, Alexandre.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ben Mulroney was a guest at Trudeau's wedding.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Advocacy
Trudeau and his family started the Kokanee Glacier Alpine Campaign for winter sports safety in 2000, two years after his brother Michel died in an avalanche during a ski trip.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2002, Trudeau criticized the Government of British Columbia's decision to stop its funding for a public avalanche warning system.<ref>Carol Harrington, "Trudeau takes on B.C. – Son of late PM decries cuts to public avalanche bulletins", Toronto Star, January 12, 2002, A24.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
From 2002 to 2006, Trudeau chaired the Katimavik youth program, a project started by longtime family friend Jacques Hébert.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2002–03, Trudeau was a panelist on CBC Radio's Canada Reads series, where he championed The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau and his brother Alexandre inaugurated the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Toronto in April 2004; the centre later became a part of the Munk School of Global Affairs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2006, he hosted the presentation ceremony for the Giller Prize for literature.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2005, Trudeau fought against a proposed $100-million zinc mine that he argued would poison the Nahanni River, a United Nations World Heritage Site located in the Northwest Territories. He was quoted as saying, "The river is an absolutely magnificent, magical place. I'm not saying mining is wrong ... but that is not the place for it. It's just the wrong thing to be doing."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On September 17, 2006, Trudeau was the master of ceremonies at a Toronto rally organized by Roméo Dallaire that called for Canadian participation in resolving the Darfur crisis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Political beginnings
Trudeau supported the Liberal Party from a young age, offering his support to party leader John Turner in the 1988 federal election.<ref>Poirier, Patricia. "Trudeau's son offers his support to Turner", The Globe and Mail, September 16, 1988, pg. A8.</ref> Two years later, he defended Canadian federalism at a student event at the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, which he attended.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Following his father's death, Trudeau became more involved with the Liberal Party throughout the 2000s. Along with Olympian Charmaine Crooks, he co-hosted a tribute to outgoing prime minister Jean Chrétien at the party's 2003 leadership convention, and was appointed to chair a task force on youth renewal after the party's defeat in the 2006 federal election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Juliet O'Neill, "Justin Trudeau to spearhead youth renewal of Liberal party: Task force", National Post, April 7, 2006, p. A1</ref>
In October 2006, Trudeau criticized Quebec nationalism by describing political nationalism generally as an "old idea from the 19th century", "based on a smallness of thought" and not relevant to modern Quebec. This comment was seen as a criticism of Michael Ignatieff, then a candidate in the 2006 Liberal Party leadership election, who was promoting recognition of Quebec as a nation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau later wrote a public letter on the subject, describing the idea of Quebec nationhood as "against everything my father ever believed".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Trudeau announced his support for leadership candidate Gerard Kennedy shortly before the 2006 convention and introduced Kennedy during the candidates' final speeches.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When Kennedy dropped off after the second ballot, Trudeau joined him in supporting the ultimate winner, Stéphane Dion.<ref>Robert Benzie, "All the right moves for Kennedy; 'Kingmaker' becomes Dion's heir apparent", Toronto Star, December 3, 2006, A07.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Rumours circulated in early 2007 that Trudeau would run in an upcoming by-election in the Montreal riding of Outremont. The Montreal newspaper La Presse reported despite Trudeau's keenness, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion wanted Outremont for a star candidate who could help rebuild the Liberal Party. Instead, Trudeau announced that he would seek the Liberal nomination in the nearby riding of Papineau for the next general election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The riding, which had been held for 26 years by André Ouellet, a senior minister under his father, had been in Liberal hands for 53 years before falling to the Bloc Québécois in 2006.<ref name="Papineau profile">Template:Cite news</ref>
On April 29, 2007, Trudeau won the Liberal party's nomination, winning 690 votes to 350 for Mary Deros, a Montreal city councillor, and 220 for Basilio Giordano, the publisher of a local Italian-language newspaper.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Opposition (2008–2015)
Prime Minister Stephen Harper called an election for October 14, 2008, by which time Trudeau had been campaigning for a year in Papineau. On election day, Trudeau narrowly defeated Bloc Québécois incumbent Vivian Barbot.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following his election win, Edward Greenspon, editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail, noted that Trudeau would "be viewed as few other rookie MPs are—as a potential future Prime Minister—and scrutinized through that lens".<ref name="The Son Also Rises" />
The Conservative Party won a minority government in the 2008 election, and Trudeau entered parliament as a member of the Official Opposition. Trudeau's first legislative act was a motion that called for the creation of a "national voluntary service policy for young people".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He later co-chaired the Liberal Party's April 2009 national convention in Vancouver, and in October of the same year he was appointed as the party's critic for multiculturalism and youth.<ref>Jane Taber, "Vancouver to host a Liberal love-in; the knives are to be left at home", The Globe and Mail, April 25, 2009, A4; Terry Pedwell, "Liberals won't change strategy, despite polls, say MPs", October 6, 2009, 12:06.</ref>
In September 2010, he was reassigned as critic for youth, citizenship, and immigration.<ref>"Michael Ignatieff Announces Liberal Critic Team for Return of Parliament", States News Service, September 7, 2010.</ref> During that time, he criticized the government's legislation targeting human smuggling, which he argued would penalize the victims of smuggling.<ref>Douglas Quan and Norma Greenway, "Feds target human smugglers in legislation", Windsor Star, October 22, 2010, pg. C1.</ref>
Trudeau sparked controversy when it was revealed that he earned $1.3 million in public speaking fees from charities and school boards across Canada, $277,000 of which Trudeau received after becoming an MP.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
He encouraged an increase of Canada's relief efforts after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and sought more accessible immigration procedures for Haitians moving to Canada in the time of crisis. His own riding includes a significant Haitian community.<ref>"Liberals rally for immediate action in Haiti", State News Service, January 13, 2010; "Liberal MP wants immigration rules relaxed for Haitians", Canada AM, January 22, 2010.</ref>
Trudeau was re-elected in Papineau in the 2011 federal election, as the Liberal Party fell to third-party standing in the House of Commons with only thirty-four seats. Ignatieff resigned as party leader immediately after the election, and rumours again circulated that Trudeau could run to become his successor. On this occasion, Trudeau said, "I don't feel I should be closing off any options... because of the history packaged into my name, a lot of people are turning to me in a way that... to be blunt, concerns me."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Weeks after the election, Toronto MP Bob Rae was selected as the interim leader until the party's leadership convention, which was later decided to be held in April 2013. Rae appointed Trudeau as the party's critic for post-secondary education, youth and amateur sport.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After his re-election, he travelled the country hosting fundraisers for charities and the Liberal Party.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Trudeau wanted to take part in a charity boxing match on behalf of the cancer research fundraising event Fight for the Cure, but was having difficulty finding a Conservative opponent until Conservative senator Patrick Brazeau agreed when asked on Trudeau's behalf by their mutual hairdresser Stefania Capovilla.<ref name="boxing">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The fight took place on March 31, 2012, at the Hampton Inn in Ottawa, and it was broadcast live on Sun News with commentary by Ezra Levant and Brian Lilley. Trudeau won in the third round; the result was considered an upset.<ref name=boxing/><ref name="CTV boxing">Template:Cite news</ref>
Leader of the Liberal Party
Earlier speculation
After Dion's resignation as Liberal leader in 2008, Trudeau's name was mentioned as a potential candidate with polls showing him as a favourite among Canadians for the position.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
However, Trudeau did not enter the race and Michael Ignatieff was named leader in December 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the party's poor showing in the 2011 election, Ignatieff resigned from the leadership and Trudeau was again seen as a potential candidate to lead the party.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Following the election, Trudeau said he was undecided about seeking the leadership;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> months later on October 12 at Wilfrid Laurier University, he announced he would not seek the post because he had a young family.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When interim leader Bob Rae, who was also seen as a frontrunner, announced he would not be entering the race in June 2012, Trudeau was hit with a "tsunami" of calls from supporters to reconsider his earlier decision to not seek the leadership.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Opinion polling conducted by several pollsters showed that if Trudeau were to become leader the Liberal Party would surge in support, from a distant third place to either being competitive with the Conservative Party or leading them.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In July 2012, Trudeau stated that he would reconsider his earlier decision to not seek the leadership and would announce his final decision at the end of the summer.<ref name="Considering leadership run">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Not committed to leadership run">Template:Cite news</ref>
2013 leadership election
Template:Main On September 26, 2012, multiple media outlets started reporting that Trudeau would launch his leadership bid the following week.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While Trudeau was seen as a frontrunner for the leadership of the Liberal Party, he was criticized for his perceived lack of substance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During his time as a member of Parliament, he spoke little on policy matters and it was not known where he stood on many issues such as the economy and foreign affairs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some strategists and pundits believed the leadership would be the time for Trudeau to be tested on these issues; however, there was also fear within the party that his celebrity status and large lead might deter other strong candidates from entering the leadership race.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On October 2, 2012, Trudeau held a rally in Montreal to launch his bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party.<ref name="The Wall Street Journal">Template:Cite news</ref> The core people on his campaign team were considered longtime friends, and all in their 30s and 40s. His senior advisor was Gerald Butts, the former president of WWF-Canada who had previously been principal secretary to former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty. Other senior aides included campaign manager Katie Telford, and policy advisors Mike McNeir and Robert Asselin, who had all worked for recent Liberal Party leaders.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His brother Alexandre also took a break from his documentary work to be a senior advisor on Trudeau's campaign.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
During the leadership campaign, three by-elections were held on November 26, 2012. The riding Calgary Centre was expected to be a three-way race between the Conservatives, Liberals and Green Party. A week before by-election day Sun Media reported on comments Trudeau had made in a 2010 interview with Télé-Québec, in which he said, "Canada isn't doing well right now because it's Albertans who control our community and socio-democratic agenda." Trudeau's campaign advisor said that the comments were being brought up now because of the close race in Calgary Centre.<ref name="alta">Template:Cite news</ref> The following day, Trudeau apologized, saying he was wrong to use "Alberta" as "shorthand" in referring to Stephen Harper's government.<ref name="alta2">Template:Cite news</ref> The Conservatives held onto Calgary Centre in the by-election by less than 1,200 votes. Liberal candidate Harvey Locke said he lost the by-election on his own and that comments made by Trudeau did not influence the outcome.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Fellow leadership candidate Marc Garneau, seen as Trudeau's main challenger in the race, criticized Trudeau for not releasing enough substantial policy positions. Garneau called on him to release more detailed policies before members and supporters begin to vote.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Garneau later challenged Trudeau to a one-on-one debate, and said that if Trudeau could not defend his ideas in a debate against him, he wouldn't be able to do so against Prime Minister Harper.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau clashed in debates with challenger Joyce Murray, who was the only Liberal leadership candidate to speak out strongly in favour of electing the House of Commons with a system of proportional representation. She challenged Trudeau over his support for a preferential ballot voting system.<ref name="Murray and Trudeau">Template:Cite news</ref>
On March 13, 2013, Garneau dropped out of the leadership race, saying that polling conducted by his campaign showed he would be unable to defeat Trudeau.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
With Joyce Murray, the last challenger, receiving significant press time, more Liberal politicians and public figures declared themselves for Trudeau. Trudeau was declared the winner of the leadership election on April 14, 2013, garnering 80.1% of 30,800 votes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Joyce Murray finished in second place with 10.2%, ahead of Martha Hall Findlay's 5.7%.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau had lost only five ridings, all to Murray and all in BC.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Early leadership (2013–2015)
In the days following his victory in the leadership race, snapshot polls recorded a surge in support for the Liberal party.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2013, Trudeau chose to give up his seat at the funeral of Nelson Mandela, in deference to Irwin Cotler as representative of the Liberal Party of Canada, because of Cotler's work for and with Nelson Mandela in fighting apartheid.<ref>CTV News Network, "Memorial of Nelson Mandela", December 10, 2013.</ref>
During the leadership campaign, Trudeau pledged to park all his assets, exclusive of real estate holdings, into a blind trust which is atypical for opposition MPs, including leaders. According to documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen, he fulfilled the pledge in July 2013 when the blind trust was set up by BMO Private Banking.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Trudeau launched an internet video the week before the 2014 Liberal party convention titled "An economy that benefits us all" in which he narrates his economic platform. He said that Canada's debt to GDP ratios have come down in recent years and now it's time for Ottawa to "step up".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2015 federal election
On October 19, 2015, after the longest official campaign in over a century, Trudeau led the Liberals to a decisive victory in the federal election. The Liberals won 184 of the 338 seats, with 39.5% of the popular vote, for a strong majority government;<ref name="cbc.ca">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a gain of 150 seats compared to the 2011 federal election.<ref name="cbc.ca" />
This was the second-best performance in the party's history. The Liberals won mostly on the strength of a solid performance in the eastern half of the country. In addition to taking all of Atlantic Canada and Toronto,<ref name="cbc.ca" /> they won 40 seats in Quebec—the most that the Liberals had won in that province since Trudeau's father led them to a near-sweep of the province in 1980, and also the first time since then that the Liberals won a majority of Quebec's seats in an election. The 150-seat gain was the biggest numerical increase for a single party since Confederation and marked the first time that a party had rebounded from third place in the Commons to a majority government.
In addition to the appeal of his party's platform, Trudeau's success has been credited to his performance both on the campaign trail and televised leaders' debates exceeding the lowered expectations created by Conservative advertisements and conservative media outlets.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Trudeau declared victory shortly after CBC News projected that he had won a majority government. He began his speech with a reference to former Liberal prime minister Wilfrid Laurier's "sunny ways" (Template:Langx) approach to bringing Canadians together despite their differences. According to Trudeau, Laurier "knew that politics can be a positive force, and that's the message Canadians have sent today".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Harper announced his resignation as the leader of the Conservative Party that night.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Prime Minister of Canada (2015–2025)
Swearing-in
Trudeau and the rest of the Cabinet were sworn in by Governor General David Johnston on November 4, 2015. He said that his first legislative priority was to lower taxes for middle-income Canadians and raise taxes for the top 1% of income earners after parliament was reconvened on December 3, 2015.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau also issued a statement promising to rebuild relations with Indigenous peoples in Canada and run an open, ethical and transparent government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On November 5, 2015, during the first Liberal caucus meeting since forming a majority government, the party announced that it would reinstate the mandatory long-form census that had been scrapped in 2010, effective with the 2016 census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Domestic policy
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The Trudeau government's economic policy initially relied on increased tax revenues to pay for increased government spending. While the government has not balanced the budget, it reduced Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio every year until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau's self-described progressive and feminist social policy has included strong advocacy for abortion rights.<ref name="HeatherSaul">Template:Cite news</ref> His government introduced the bill that made conversion therapies illegal in Canada.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Canada introduced the right to medically-assisted dying in 2016,<ref name="CBC">Template:Cite news</ref> and legalized cannabis for recreational use in 2018.<ref name="WEED">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2021, Trudeau announced the creation of a national child care plan with the intention of reducing day care fees for parents down to $10 a day per child within five years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
His environmental policy included introducing new commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% before 2030, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.<ref name="LucasPowers">Template:Cite news</ref> His main tool for reaching this target is a federal carbon pricing policy.<ref name="iec">Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau's parliament also adopted legislation for marine conservation,<ref name="Lake">Template:Cite web</ref> banning six common single-use plastic products,<ref name="Hypocrisy">Template:Cite web</ref> and strengthening environmental impact assessments.<ref name="JoshKElliott">Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau pledged to ban single use plastic in 2019. In 2022, his government announced a ban on producing and importing single use plastic from December 2022. The sale of those items will be banned from December 2023 and the export from 2025.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, Trudeau is in favour of oil and gas pipelines to bring Canadian fossil fuel resources to foreign markets.<ref name="Swooning">Template:Cite news</ref>
Before winning the 2015 election, Trudeau promised to accept 50,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq by the end of 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Syrians">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Immigrants2018">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2016, Trudeau's advisors recommended drastically increasing immigration levels to stimulate the economy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Despite warnings about the impact of rapid population growth on housing and services, Trudeau's government increased targets each year, reaching almost 1 million newcomers (permanent and temporary residents) in both 2022 and 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In November 2022, the Trudeau government announced that Canada would admit 500,000 immigrants per year by 2025.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau initiated measures to combat housing inflation such as banning foreign buyers and creating the Housing Accelerator Fund, but asserted in a May 2024 interview that, "housing needs to retain its value".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October 2024, as Canadians endured cost of living and housing crises, and as Trudeau's unpopularity grew, he announced cuts to immigration targets in a video message.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This had little effect on Trudeau's approval rating, however, which had plummeted from 65% in 2016 to 22% in December 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2024, food bank usage was also at an all-time high and more working people than ever were using food banks,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which occurred amidst global food crises at the time. Reports released in early 2025 suggested that population growth would not be significantly slowed even with the Trudeau government's proposed cuts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On September 22, 2023, Yaroslav Hunka, a Ukrainian Canadian who fought in the SS Division Galicia of the military wing of the Nazi Party, the Waffen-SS, was invited to the House of Commons of Canada to be recognized by Speaker Anthony Rota, the Member of Parliament for Hunka's district. Hunka received two standing ovations from all house members, including Justin Trudeau, other party leaders, and visiting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The incident, seen as a political blunder<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a scandal, such that it drew comparisons to the most embarrassing moments in Canada's history,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was leveraged by the Russian establishment to further its justifications for waging war in Ukraine. Trudeau said, "this is a mistake that deeply embarrassed parliament and Canada", and apologized to President Zelenskyy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
As prime minister, Trudeau launched three major independent investigations: the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIWG), the Joint Federal/Provincial Commission into the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks (in partnership with the Government of Nova Scotia),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions. The latter was called in response to allegations of Chinese government interference in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections, but also deals with interference from other states deemed hostile to Canada.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The MMIWG investigation found that Canada's response to this issue amounts to genocide, a finding Trudeau said he accepted.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Trudeau chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the Supreme Court of Canada: Richard Wagner (as chief justice), Malcolm Rowe, Sheilah Martin, Nicholas Kasirer, Mahmud Jamal, Michelle O'Bonsawin, and Mary Moreau. He appointed the first visible minority and Indigenous Canadian to the court.
COVID-19 pandemic
Trudeau was prime minister during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. His government's response to the pandemic included funds for provinces and territories to adapt to the new situation, funds for coronavirus research, travel restrictions, screening of international flights, self-isolation orders under the Quarantine Act, an industrial strategy, and a public health awareness campaign. Initially, Canada faced a shortage of personal protective equipment, as the Trudeau government had cut PPE stockpile funding in the previous years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
To deal with the economic impact of the pandemic in 2020, Trudeau waived student loan payments, increased the Canada Child Benefit, doubled the annual Goods and Services Tax payment, and introduced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) as part of a first package in March. In April 2020, Trudeau introduced the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Business Account, and the Canada Emergency Student Benefit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Trudeau also deployed the Canadian Forces in long-term care homes in Quebec and Ontario as part of Operation LASER.<ref name="mbafd">Template:Cite news</ref>
Throughout the pandemic, the federal government was also responsible for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref> On May 12, 2020, the Trudeau government announced it had reached an exclusive deal with CanSino Biologics.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, due to deteriorating Canadian-Chinese relations, the Cansino deal fell through.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On August 5, 2020, the Trudeau government created a plan to secure doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Starting in December 2020, Trudeau oversaw the implementation of Canada's mass-vaccination program.<ref name="aljazeera_20201127">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":3" />
The spread of COVID-19 in Canada continued beyond the initial outbreak, with a strong second wave in the fall of 2020 and an even more serious third wave in the spring of 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Throughout the crisis, Trudeau periodically extended the scope and duration of the federal aid programs. The 2021 Canadian federal budget planned to phase them out by the end of September 2021, and projected a $354.2-billion deficit in the 2020–21 fiscal year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While CERB was indeed phased out on September 26, the Canada Recovery Benefit (CBR) continued to provide support until October 23.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit was introduced that month to replace the CBR, and expanded during the spread of the Omicron variant in December 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Freedom Convoy and Emergencies Act invocation
The Canada convoy protest, called the Freedom Convoy, was a protest in Canada against COVID-19 vaccine requirements for truckers to re-enter the country by land introduced by the Government of Canada on January 15, 2022. Originally composed of several routes traversing all of the Canadian provinces, the truck convoys converged on Ottawa.
On January 29, the first day of protest at Parliament Hill, Trudeau moved to an undisclosed location.<ref name="CBC Tasker 20220129">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to The Guardian, the demonstration developed to express a number of "antigovernment grievances", particularly against Trudeau.<ref name="theguardian_Cecco_20220128">Template:Cite news</ref> On January 31, Trudeau called the protests an "insult to truth".<ref name="Insult">Template:Cite news</ref> On February 3, he said that a military response was "not in the cards right now".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On February 11, Reuters reported that Trudeau promised the US "quick action" regarding protesters who have forcefully blocked the Ambassador Bridge on the US-Canada border, the continent's "busiest land border crossing".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau subsequently indicated that there would be "robust police intervention" and called for all protesters to "go home".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on February 14, 2022, for the first time since it was enacted in 1988, as a result of the public order emergency caused by the demonstrations in Ottawa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On February 23, 2022, Trudeau announced that the federal government would revoke the emergency declaration. Later that day, the governor general signed a proclamation revoking it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A year later, on February 17, 2023, a judicial inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act concluded that the Trudeau government met the legal threshold required to invoke the act.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In early 2024, Federal Court judge Richard Mosley ruled that the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act to end the 2022 convoy protest was "not justified" and infringed on Charter rights. Template:As of, the federal government planned to appeal the ruling.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2019 federal election
Template:Main On September 11, 2019, Trudeau visited Governor General Julie Payette, to request the dissolution of Parliament, and formally triggering an election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Prior to the formal start of the campaign, Trudeau announced his intention to only participate in the three leaders' debates, two organized by the Leaders' Debates Commission, and one organized by TVA.<ref name="TVAdeb">Template:Cite news</ref> Other leader's debates were either cancelled or took place with an empty podium left on stage for Trudeau.<ref name="Snub">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In September 2019, controversial pictures and video were published showing Trudeau in brownface and blackface.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On September 18, 2019, Time magazine published a photograph of Trudeau wearing brownface makeup in the spring of 2001, at an Arabian Nights-themed gala, while Trudeau was a teacher at West Point Grey Academy.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Trudeau publicly apologized, agreeing the photo was racist and saying: "I shouldn't have done that. I should have known better and I didn't. I'm really sorry."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He further went on to say "It was something that I didn't think was racist at the time, but now I recognize it was something racist to do".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau also admitted to wearing blackface makeup in high school while singing "Day-O" at a talent show that was subsequently published by Global News.<ref name="auto1">Template:Cite web</ref> A third instance, a video, of Trudeau in racist dress was also published.<ref name="auto1" /> After this video was published, Trudeau admitted he could not remember how often he had worn blackface makeup.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the days following the scandal, pollsters pointed out that many Canadians either were not bothered by the scandal or had accepted Trudeau's apology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Additionally, some minority community groups, racialized commentators and some of Trudeau's opponents came to his defence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Others were more critical, including members of his own party.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
While Trudeau's Liberal Party lost 20 seats in the House of Commons (lowering its total from 177 to 157) from the time of dissolution, they still won the most seats of any party—enough to allow Trudeau to form a minority government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For the first time since 1979, the party that garnered the largest share of the national popular vote did not win the most seats; the Liberals under Trudeau had 33.1% of the popular vote, while the Conservatives under Andrew Scheer had 34.4%.<ref name="toronto">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2021 federal election
Template:Main On August 15, 2021, Trudeau advised Governor General Mary Simon to dissolve parliament, scheduling an election for September 20.<ref name="ctv081521">Template:Cite news</ref> The election was called on the same day as the Fall of Kabul. In the first two weeks of the campaign, Trudeau received criticism for not acting fast enough in the face of the 2021 Taliban offensive to evacuate Canadian citizens and Afghans who supported Canada's military and diplomatic efforts during the War in Afghanistan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Liberals called the election to win a majority government and govern alone.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In the 2021 federal election, Trudeau secured a third mandate and his second minority government after winning 160 seats. However, the Liberals came in second in the national popular vote, behind the Conservatives.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They received 32.6% of the popular vote, the lowest percentage of the national popular vote for a governing party in Canadian history.<ref name="Hopper2">Template:Cite news</ref> The results were mostly unchanged from the 2019 federal election.<ref name="NYT 2021">Template:Cite web</ref>
Confidence and supply agreement
On March 22, 2022, the Liberals and the NDP entered a supply and confidence agreement, in which the NDP committed to supporting the Liberals in all votes of confidence for the duration of the 44th Parliament.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> In exchange, the Liberal Party would back key NDP priorities, including national dental care for low-income Canadians, national pharmacare, labour reforms for federally-regulated workers, and new taxes on financial institutions.<ref name=":4" />
In September 2024, the NDP pulled their support and ended the supply and confidence agreement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Conservative Party made three failed no-confidence motions in September, October, and December,<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> all of which did not receive NDP support. On December 20, 2024, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh pledged to put forward another no-confidence motion and vote out Trudeau's government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Foreign policy
Template:Main Template:See also In 2015, Trudeau told the New York Times Magazine that Canada could be the "first postnational state".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Trudeau enjoyed good relations with the "like-minded" United States president Barack Obama,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> despite Trudeau's support for the Keystone Pipeline, which was rejected by the Democratic president.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau's first foreign policy challenges included follow-through on his campaign promise to withdraw Canadian air support from the Syrian civil war<ref name="Iraq/Syria trainers, aid">Template:Cite news</ref> and to welcome 25,000 Syrian war refugees.<ref name="revisedgoal">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2016, Trudeau lifted visa requirements for Mexican citizens. Asylum claims by Mexicans grew from 110 in 2015 to 24,000 in 2023. Visas and some restrictions were reinstated in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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In January 2017, Trudeau wrote, "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada," on Twitter. As a result, irregular border crossing increased, mainly at Roxham Road.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Increased strain on services in Quebec and Ontario, and criticism over the unsustainable influx of claimants, appeared to influence the decision to close Roxham Road in March 2023; however, the new terms of the Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) had been arranged the previous year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After irregular border crossings were shut down, asylum claims surged at airports.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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When Donald Trump became president in 2017, Canada-US relations deteriorated. The Trump administration forced the renegotiation of NAFTA to create the CUSMA, in which Canada made significant concessions in allowing increased imports of American milk, weakening Canada's dairy supply management system.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Canada ratification">Template:Cite web</ref> Donald Trump also implemented tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, to which Trudeau retaliated by imposing tariffs on American steel, aluminum and a variety of other American products.<ref name="Wolfe229">Daniel Wolfe, The full list of 229 US products targeted by Canada's retaliatory tariffs Template:Webarchive, Quartz (June 29, 2018).</ref>
Canada's relationship with China also deteriorated during Trudeau's time as prime minister. The turmoil led to the arrest of Meng Wanzhou at the Vancouver International Airport in December 2018 at the behest of the United States,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the arrest of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in China 12 days later.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau appointed Liberal advisor, Dominic Barton (McKinsey & Company, Century Initiative) ambassador to China in 2019. While Barton negotiated the release of Spavor and Kovrig, Canada-China trade reached historic highs. Barton resigned in December 2021, "amidst growing pressure from...President Joe Biden for Ottawa to take a tougher stance with Beijing."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As Wanzhou, Spavor and Kovrig were released at the exact same time in September 2021, many observers speculated they were exchanged as part of a deal between the United States and China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Trudeau greeted Spavor and Kovrig at the airport upon their repatriation. In 2024, Spavor was awarded $7 million in compensation for his arrest and detainment. Although Trudeau repeatedly claimed the two were arbitrarily targeted, it was later reported Spavor had unwittingly participated in espionage by sharing information on North Korea with Kovrig who then passed it onto the Canadian government.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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In a similar fashion, Canada's relationship with Saudi Arabia was also put under strain, as human rights groups called on Trudeau to stop selling military equipment to that country under a deal struck by the Harper government. In 2018, Saudi Arabia recalled its Canadian ambassador and froze trade with the country in response to Canada's call for the Saudis to release opposition blogger Raif Badawi. However, in 2019, Canada doubled its weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, despite a "moratorium on export permits following the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and mounting civilian deaths from the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen."<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2020, Canada lost its bid to join the United Nations Security Council. This was the second time Canada had failed an attempt to join the Security Council, the first time being in 2009 under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In September 2023, Trudeau said that the government of Canada had "credible intelligence" that the government of India was involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, outside a Sikh gurdwara in Surrey. This episode triggered the Canada–India diplomatic row.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On October 7, 2023, Trudeau condemned the Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel, which devolved into the Gaza war, and expressed his support to Israel and its right to self-defence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On October 24, he rejected calls for a ceasefire but said he supported "humanitarian pauses" to deliver aid to the people of the Gaza Strip.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On December 12, in a joint statement with the Prime Minister of Australia and the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Trudeau called for a "sustainable ceasefire" in the war.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Trudeau neither endorsed nor rejected South Africa's genocide case against Israel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Following Donald Trump's second inauguration in January 2025, Canada-US relations again deteriorated. On March 4, 2025, President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian exports, 10% tariffs on Canadian energy products, with an exemption for the automotive industry set to expire on April 2. In retaliation, Trudeau announced countermeasures, with Canada imposing 25% tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, effective March 5, 2025. These retaliatory tariffs were set to increase to $155 billion worth of U.S. products within 21 days and would remain in place until the U.S. trade actions were withdrawn.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On March 8, while giving a speech at the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism, Trudeau identified himself as a Zionist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Foreign interference
Template:Main In 2022 and 2023, Canadian media reported that the People's Republic of China had made attempts to interfere in the 2019 Canadian federal election and 2021 Canadian federal election.<ref name="auto2">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="BBC1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="FifeChaseFeb2023-A">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="FifeChaseFeb2023-B">Template:Cite news</ref>
Canadian opposition parties demanded a public inquiry into election interference. Rejecting a full public inquiry, Trudeau nominated former Governor General of Canada David Johnston to investigate the allegations. Johnston delivered a report in May 2023, which described China's interference as a danger to Canadian democracy, stated that some of the media reports were partially incorrect, and that the Canadian intelligence services and Canadian government needed to make several improvements to counter the threat and protect members of Parliament.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Following Johnston's resignation on June 9, Justin Trudeau commissioned Québec justice Marie-Josée Hogue to preside over the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions. In May 2024, the inquiry issued its preliminary report, finding that China engaged in foreign interference in both elections, but the interference did not affect the ultimate result of either election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Ethics
Trudeau was criticized by opposition members in November 2016 for his fundraising tactics, which they saw as "cash for access" schemes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau attended fundraisers where attendees paid upwards of $1500 for access to him and other cabinet members.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> In some instances, the events were attended by foreign businessmen who needed government approval for their businesses.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau defended his fundraising tactics, saying that they were not in breach of any ethics rules. He also stated that he was lobbied at the fundraisers but not influenced.<ref name=":2" /> In 2017, Trudeau introduced legislation that would eliminate such exclusive events by requiring increased transparency for political fundraisers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In January 2017, the ethics commissioner, Mary Dawson, began an investigation into Trudeau for a vacation he and his family took to Aga Khan IV's private island in the Bahamas.<ref name="veconomist">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The ethics commissioner's report, released in December 2017, found that Trudeau had violated four provisions of the 2006 Conflict of Interest Act.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He became the first prime minister to break the modern federal conflict of interest law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2022, it was reported that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had considered bringing criminal charges against Trudeau over the affair.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In February 2018, Trudeau was criticized when his government invited Khalistani nationalist Jaspal Atwal to the Canadian High Commission's dinner party in Delhi. Atwal had previously been convicted for the shooting and attempted murder of Indian Cabinet minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu in 1986, as well as the assault on former BC premier Ujjal Dosanjh in 1985. Following the dinner, the PMO rescinded the invitation, and apologized for the incident.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
SNC-Lavalin affair
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On February 8, 2019, The Globe and Mail reported that sources close to the government said that the Prime Minister's Office had allegedly attempted to influence Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould concerning an ongoing prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. The charges allege that between 2001 and 2011, SNC-Lavalin paid CA$48 million in bribes in Libya to officials in the government of Muammar Gaddafi. When asked about the allegations, Trudeau said that the story in the Globe was false and that he had never "directed" Wilson-Raybould concerning the case.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wilson-Raybould did not comment on the matter, citing solicitor-client privilege.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Soon after, Trudeau voluntarily waived privilege and cabinet confidences, permitting her to speak.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On February 11, the ethics commissioner announced the opening of an investigation into the allegations. Trudeau said he "welcomed the investigation".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Justice Committee of the House of Commons has conducted a series of hearings on the alleged interference.<ref>Template:CitationTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> The investigation heard from several witnesses, including Jody Wilson-Raybould, who submitted as evidence a telephone call she secretly recorded between herself and Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick, which was subsequently released to the public.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On the recording, Wernick is heard asking to understand why the "DPA route" is not being used, stating that people were "talking past each other", and suggesting Trudeau obtain independent legal advice from former Supreme Court chief justice Beverly McLachlin. Wilson-Raybould is heard suggesting that Trudeau would be "breaching a constitutional principle of prosecutorial independence". On March 19, 2019, the Liberal committee members voted as a bloc to shut down the Justice Committee's investigation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Trudeau was the subject of an investigation by the ethics commissioner, pursuant to the Conflict of Interest Act, in regard to criminal charges against SNC-Lavalin in the SNC-Lavalin affair. The commission's final report, issued August 14, 2019, concluded "Mr. Trudeau contravened section 9 of the Act".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
WE Charity investigation
Template:Main Following complaints by opposition parties that the Trudeau family had ties to WE Charity, the ethics commissioner on July 3, 2020, announced an investigation into Trudeau's and the government's decision to have the charity administer a summer, student-grant program which could assist students financially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trudeau responded by saying WE was the charity that had the capability to administer such a program. WE and the federal government decided to "part ways" leaving administration of the grant program to the federal government.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Tasker1">Template:Cite news</ref>
WE Charity was criticized for its close ties to the Trudeau family; the investigation came after revelations that Trudeau's mother, brother, and wife were paid nearly $300,000 in total to speak at WE Charity events.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On July 16, 2020, the ethics commissioner also announced the investigation was being expanded to include Finance Minister Bill Morneau.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing by the ethics commissioner though Morneau was found to have broken the conflict of interest law.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Resignation
Template:See also Template:External media Following the 2021 federal election, the Liberals faced declining poll numbers and disappointing results in by-elections, including losses in safe seats such as Toronto—St. Paul's in Toronto and LaSalle—Émard—Verdun in Montreal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The months following these losses saw frequent media stories about internal frustration and discontent with Trudeau's leadership. This appeared to culminate in a caucus meeting where multiple members called on Trudeau to resign. Trudeau emerged from this meeting stating that the party remained "strong and united".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The closing months of 2024 saw a wave of resignations in Trudeau's cabinet. On September 19, Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez resigned to run for leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On November 20, Alberta MP Randy Boissonnault resigned following allegations that he ran a business seeking federal contracts and falsely claimed to be Indigenous.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On December 15, Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced his intention to leave the federal cabinet in the next shuffle, citing family reasons.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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On December 16, 2024, Chrystia Freeland resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, hours before she was due to release the government's fall economic statement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Freeland was often nicknamed the "minister of everything", and widely seen as a potential successor to Trudeau for the leadership of the Liberal Party.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In her resignation letter, Freeland reported Trudeau had asked her to resign as finance minister and that she would be offered another Cabinet position. She instead decided to resign altogether from his Cabinet, saying that "to be effective, a Minister must speak on behalf of the Prime Minister and with his full confidence. In making your decision, you made clear that I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence."<ref name="resignation">Template:Cite web</ref>
Freeland's resignation came amid threats from the incoming Trump administration to impose 25% tariffs upon Canada,<ref name=":12">Template:Cite news</ref> as well as Freeland's reported opposition to Trudeau's promise of $250 cheques to working Canadians who earned $150,000 or less in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The resignation raised speculation as to the future of Trudeau's leadership, with renewed calls for his resignation emerging from Liberal MPs.<ref name=":12" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The government's economic statement, released later that day, showed a deficit of $61.9 billion for 2023–24, exceeding the previous target of $40.1 billion or less, and left Trump's tariff threats largely unaddressed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On January 6, 2025, citing that Canada "[deserved] a real choice in the next election", and that he was facing "internal battles" he felt would be a distraction, Trudeau announced during a news conference at Rideau Cottage that he would tender his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party, and as prime minister of Canada after the party elects his successor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also announced that Governor General Mary Simon would prorogue Parliament until March 24, while the party organizes and holds its next leadership election. On January 15, Trudeau subsequently confirmed he would not seek re-election in his riding of Papineau.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On March 9, the Liberal Party elected Mark Carney as the new leader, and the transition of power from Trudeau to Carney began the following day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On March 14, Trudeau formally notified the governor general of his resignation. Carney was sworn in as the 24th prime minister of Canada later that morning.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Post-premiership (2025–present)
In April 2025, Trudeau made his first public engagement following his resignation, campaigning for Liberal candidate Marjorie Michel in his former riding of Papineau. He was also present for the 2025 Speech from the Throne in May, along with former prime ministers Stephen Harper and Kim Campbell.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
Family and relationships
Trudeau first met Sophie Grégoire when they were both children growing up in Montreal; Grégoire was a classmate and childhood friend of Trudeau's youngest brother, Michel.<ref name="GM Family Album">Template:Cite news</ref> They reconnected as adults in June 2003, when Grégoire, by then a Quebec television personality, was assigned as Trudeau's co-host for a charity ball; they began dating several months later. Trudeau and Grégoire became engaged in October 2004 and married on May 28, 2005, in a ceremony at Montreal's Sainte-Madeleine d'Outremont Church.<ref name="cbc2005">Template:Cite news</ref> They have three children: a son, Xavier, a daughter, Ella-Grace, and a second son, Hadrien.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In June 2013, two months after Trudeau became the leader of the Liberal Party, the couple sold their home in the Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood of Montreal.<ref name="2013 Move">Template:Cite news</ref> They began living in a rented home in Ottawa's Rockcliffe Park, the neighbourhood near where Trudeau resided as a child during his father's time as prime minister.<ref name="2013 Move" />
On August 18, 2014, an intruder broke into the house while Grégoire and the couple's three children were sleeping and left a threatening note; however, nothing was stolen and there was no damage to the property. Following the incident, Trudeau, who was in Winnipeg at the time of the break-in, stated his intention to inquire with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about his home security.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After his 2015 electoral victory, Trudeau opted to live at Rideau Cottage, on the grounds of Rideau Hall.<ref name="Rideau Cottage">Template:Cite news</ref>
On August 2, 2023, Trudeau announced he and Grégoire had separated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On August 21, Trudeau said he was focusing on his children and the future.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2025, it was reported that Trudeau was dating American singer Katy Perry.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Religion
Trudeau's father was a devout Catholic<ref name="Memoir">Template:Cite news</ref> and his mother converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism just before their wedding.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Trudeau himself became a lapsed Catholic at age 18, as he felt that much of his day-to-day life was not addressed by the formality and structure of the church.<ref name="Ottawa Citizen1" /><ref name="Longhurst">Template:Cite news</ref> Trudeau described his faith during this period as "like so many Catholics across this country, I said, 'OK, I'm Catholic, I'm of faith, but I'm just not really going to go to church. Maybe on Easter, maybe midnight Mass at Christmas.Template:'"<ref name="Ottawa Citizen1" /><ref name=Longhurst/> After the death of his brother Michel in 1998, Trudeau was persuaded by a friend to participate in an Alpha course, during which he regained his faith.<ref name="Ottawa Citizen1" /><ref name=Longhurst/> In 2011, Trudeau stated, "My own personal faith is an extremely important part of who I am and the values that I try to lead with."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Honours
According to Canadian protocol, as a former prime minister, he is styled "The Right Honourable" for life.
File:QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg File:UK King Charles III Coronation Medal BAR.svg File:Ordre de la Pléiade (Francophonie).gif File:Order of Liberty (Ukraine) ribbon bar.svg
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| Ribbon | Description | Notes |
| File:QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg | Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Canada |
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| File:Ordre de la Pléiade (Francophonie).gif | Grand Cross of the Order of La Pléiade |
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| File:Order of Liberty (Ukraine) ribbon bar.svg | Order of Liberty (Ukraine) |
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| File:UK King Charles III Coronation Medal BAR.svg | King Charles III Coronation Medal (Canadian Version) |
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Following the death of his father, Pierre Trudeau, on September 8, 2000, Justin Trudeau inherited his father’s arms and crest,<ref name=":5" /> which had originally been granted by the Canadian Heraldic Authority on December 7, 1994.<ref>Royal Heraldry Society of Canada Template:Webarchive—Arms of Canada's Prime Ministers</ref>
- Honorary degrees
| Location | Date | School | Degree | Gave commencement address |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagu | July 5, 2017 | University of Edinburgh | Doctorate | Yes<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:CitationTemplate:Cbignore</ref> |
| Template:Flagu | May 16, 2018 | New York University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) | Yes<ref>Template:CitationTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
- Other awards and honours
| Year | Awarded | Awarder | Reference |
| 2018 | Polio Eradication Champion Award | Rotary International | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2020 | Honorary Fellowship | Royal Canadian Geographical Society | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Electoral history
Published works
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Notes
References
Further reading
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External links
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- Trudeau Announces Resignation – January 6, 2025 on C-SPAN
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