The Rise and Fall of Justin Trudeau

Image Courtesy of Politico

While Justin Trudeau was a widely popular political figure in his early years as prime minister (particularly from 2015 to 2017), this popularity has significantly declined in recent years. Trudeau’s major promises as a leader included strengthening the middle class, promoting inclusivity, increasing diversity, and improving economic growth. However, after over 9 years in office, Trudeau often appears disconnected from citizens and ineffective at accomplishing his many pledges and commitments. This has led to a negative perception of his character and political capability amongst a large portion of Canadian voters.

Trudeau was born on December 25, 1971 in Ottawa, Ontario. Trudeau is the eldest son of the fifteenth Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and Margaret Trudeau. He currently has three children: Xavier, Ella-Grace, and Hadrien. Trudeau studied Literature at McGill, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), and graduated in 1994. After studying in Québec, he completed an education program at the University of British Columbia, and worked as a teacher for math, French, and various other subjects in Vancouver. Trudeau was also an activist and a speaker for numerous global issues, such as education access and environmental problems.

Young Trudeau and his sibilings, courtesy of Vietnam Times

Trudeau became involved in politics in 2007 after winning a nomination for the Liberal Party for the Montréal riding of Papineau. He became increasingly engaged in 2008 when elected as a Member of Parliament and continued to be re-elected in 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2021. Trudeau became the Leader of the Liberal Party in 2013 and focused on progressing Canada economically, environmentally, and through advancing inclusivity, freedom, and diversity.

Initially, Trudeau was viewed as a progressive icon. He was elected as the Prime Minister of Canada by a historically large majority government (winning 184 seats) and was sworn in on November 4, 2015. At the beginning of his term and in the early years of his political career, Trudeau received high approval ratings (63% when initially elected), and international praise for his goals and plans. Trudeau was featured in popular magazines such as Vogue and Rolling Stone, and his charisma and public speaking skills, allowed him to maintain a positive image.

Trudeau made countless claims at the beginning of his career, including improving gender equality across Canada and lowering taxes for the middle class. Trudeau pledged to reduce taxes for individuals who earn between $45,000 and $90,000 per year and increase taxes for wealthy Canadians, who earn over $200,000 per year. Trudeau also established an equally gender-balanced cabinet by appointing the same amount of male and female ministers. As well as these major goals, Trudeau promised to invest in better infrastructure and reconcile Indigenous relations by bridging medical divides, improving education access, and increasing awareness of Indigenous history.

Furthermore, Trudeau legalized recreational marijuana for adults, encouraged low-carbon technologies, implemented a carbon tax, and also brought 25,000 Syrian refugees into the country in 2015 at a time of high political conflict. Overall, Trudeau appeared to the public as a progressive prime minister, with optimistic, inclusive views focused on uniting Canadians.

However, his career has not been without scandals. Trudeau faced a public scandal in 2017, when he vacationed at Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas in December 2016. The trip was not publicized and caused controversy as Aga Khan claimed to have business interests that incorporated lobbying the Canadian government for funding. The trip was estimated to cost taxpayers and the government around $215,000 due to travel expenses such as flights on a helicopter, travelling on a yacht, and more. Canada’s Ethics Commissioner stated that Trudeau had violated the Conflict of Interest Act by accepting the vacation offer, and many Canadians believed that Trudeau acted inappropriately.

In 2019, a scandal involved assertions that Trudeau and his office coerced and heavily persuaded Jody Wilson-Raybould (the Attorney General at the time) to intercede in a corruption case against an engineering company named SNC-Lavalin. Raybould was pressured into securing a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) for SNC-Lavalin to avoid a criminal trial, however, she resisted, instead testifying about the inappropriate behaviour of Trudeau and his office. The investigation revealed that Trudeau violated the Conflict of Interest Act and crossed ethical boundaries.

Later in September 2019, images of Trudeau from the early 2000s and late 90s surfaced depicting him wearing blackface and brownface makeup on numerous separate instances. These included a 2001 Arabian Nights-themed social event and a costume party. While Trudeau apologized for this highly offensive behaviour, it had a significant impact on his popularity, mainly due to the hypocritical nature of these actions after his repeated statements regarding the importance of diversity.

Many have criticized Justin Trudeau for his approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was most severe during 2020 and 2021. During the early stages and the rapid spread of the virus, Trudeau and the government had a slow approach, lacking effective and quick border control and experiencing delays in securing personal protective equipment. Additionally, during the pandemic, there was a significant increase in the costs of housing, grocery prices, and crime rates. The Canadian medical/healthcare system was extremely strained, with a delay in vaccine distributions, devastating outbreaks in long-term care facilities (nursing homes), and a lack of staff and medical personnel. During the pandemic, tensions regarding Trudeau’s leadership mounted, and his support greatly declined, which was seen through a second consecutive minority government in 2021 after Trudeau’s attempt for a majority.

Despite these two major scandals in 2019, as well as a scandal in 2017, Trudeau and the Liberal Party won the 2019 election but lost the majority government.

Recent election polls have reflected the loss of Liberal support in favour of the opposing Conservative Party. Trudeau’s approval rating sank to 28% in June 2024, a substantial decrease from 63% in 2015.

Many Canadian citizens believe that Trudeau lacks clear approaches to his goals, and fails to address issues within Canadian society. Many of his policies including immigration caps and housing affordability have faced significant backlash, as well as issues within the healthcare system, increasing grocery prices, and high crime rates. Trudeau is viewed as disengaged from the Canadian public and average citizen, and his cumulative amount of unmet goals indicates a lack of urgency and involvement. Trudeau recently resigned, following pressure from the Liberal Party, due to his failure to deliver on support towards the middle class and other promises regarding societal progress. In June 2024, the Liberal Party lost a seat from Toronto, which was previously held for 30 years, to the Conservative Party. Further, the New Democratic Party (NDP) recently terminated its support agreement with the Liberal Party. While Trudeau is proposing various solutions, the widespread lack of Canadian citizens’ trust foreshadows a loss for the Liberal Party in the upcoming election and the end of Justin Trudeau’s time as Prime Minister.

Courtesy of the Angus Reid Institute

While he was once seen as a figure of progress and hope, Trudeau’s failure to deliver on his countless goals has rendered Canadian citizens apprehensive and untrusting of future claims. In the 2025 election, Trudeau will not be expected to serve as Prime Minister or be re-elected.

Bibliography

“About.” 2013. Prime Minister of Canada. June 9, 2013. https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/about.

Djuric, Mickey. 2024. “Inside the Slow, Super Polite Revolt against Justin Trudeau – POLITICO.” POLITICO. Politico. October 18, 2024. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/18/justin-trudeau-revolt-canada-00184391.

Trudeau’s, Justin. 2024. “Timeline: The Rise and Fall of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Political Fortunes.” CTVNews. September 8, 2024. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/timeline-the-rise-and-fall-of-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-s-political-fortunes-1.7028337.

Yousif, Nadine. 2024. “Canada’s Trudeau on Shaky Ground as Parliament Resumes.” Bbc.com. BBC News. September 16, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjrdrnxp74wo.