The Right Honourable Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician and the member of parliament for Papineau. He is the 23rd prime minister of Canada and the former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
His channel content is mostly comprised of announcements, speeches, and messages from Trudeau. The channel also infrequently posts highlights from House of Commons sessions.
History[]
Trudeau was born to Margaret Trudeau and Pierre Eliot Trudeau, the prime minister at the time. He was baptised a month after his birth in January of 1972. His parents divorced in 1977, and Pierre was given primary custody.
After graduating McGill University with a B.E. in literature, Trudeau pursued a career in teaching. He worked as a substitute teacher at schools in the Vancouver area, and later secured a permanent position as a French and mathematics teacher at West Point Grey Academy, a private school.
Following his father's death in 2000s due to prostate cancer, Trudeau became invested in politics. His eulogy for his father received national attention and media coverage, boosting his popularity among Canadians. In 2007, Trudeau won the nomination to be the Liberal Party candidate for the riding of Papineau.
After the 2011 election, where the Liberals fell behind the NDP and lost their spot as the official opposition, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff resigned, leaving an open opportunity for Trudeau to take the leadership role. Trudeau won the 2013 Liberal leadership election by a landslide and led the LPC into the 2015 election, where they would go on to win a majority government.
In the build-up to the 2019 election, Trudeau was exposed by news media for allegedly interfering with a federal prosecution on SNC-Lavalin, and old photos of him in racist makeup surfaced. This hurt his party's popularity and cost him in the election. Despite winning the popular vote, the Conservative Party of Canada (led by Andrew Scheer) was unable to secure victory in the election, though the Liberals lost 20 seats and won with a minority government.
During the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Trudeau requested a snap election 2 years ahead of the scheduled election date. Governor General Mary Simon approved the request and dissolved the parliament. The Liberal Party aimed to regain a majority but failed, with the seats staying mostly the same.
He will be campaigning for a fourth term in the coming 2025 federal election.
On January 6, 2025, Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as Liberal Party Leader and Prime Minister of Canada.[1] In March of the following year, Mark Carney took his place.[2]
Controversies[]
"Elbowgate"[]
In 2016, Trudeau came under scrutiny after violent physical contact with two opposing members of parliament during a House of Commons session. During the incident Trudeau grabbed Conservative MP Gord Brown and subsequently struck New Democratic MP Ruth Ellen Brusseau in the chest by accident. Trudeau apologized for the incident.[3]
Use of Blackface[]
In 2019, photos surfaced of Trudeau wearing blackface in culturally insensitive costumes, taken from before Trudeau was a politican. Trudeau released a public apology, and the Liberal Party released all other photos of Trudeau in blackface in an effort to be transparent. [4]
Yaroslav Hunka[]
In September of 2023, Ukranian-Canadian World War 2 veteran Yaroslav Hunka was invited to the House of Commons by House Speaker Anthony Rota, to commemorate the visit of Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Hunka, later revealed to be a former Nazi soldier who served in the Waffen-SS, was applauded by parliament members and commended by Rota. After news media revealed Hunka's Nazi background, Rota resigned from his position as speaker but remained an MP. Trudeau and other parliamentarians apologized to the global Jewish community.
The Canadian government was criticized for not doing a background check on Hunka at all. This incident is widely regarded as the worst political blunder in Canadian history.[5]
References[]
- ↑ Paula Newton; Hanna Park; Christian Edwards; Eve Brennan (January 6, 2025). Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation. What happens now?. CNN. Archived from the original on February 25, 2025. Retrieved on March 14, 2025.
- ↑ Matina Stevis-Gridneff; Vjosa Isai (March 10, 2025). Canada Will Have a New Prime Minister. Here’s What to Know. The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 13, 2025. Retrieved on March 14, 2025.
- ↑ https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/an-oral-history-of-elbowgate/
- ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-votes-2019-trudeau-blackface-brownface-cbc-explains-1.5290664
- ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-hunka-embarassment-history-1.6983002