Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician. He is the 23rd and current Prime Minister of Canada. He is also the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was elected leader on April 14, 2013. After leading his party to a majority government win in the 2015 federal election, Trudeau became the Prime Minister. Since 2021, Trudeau is the senior G7 leader.
Early life
Trudeau was born at Ottawa Civic Hospital in Ottawa , He is the eldest son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He is the second child in Canadian history to be born while one of his parents was prime minister; the first was John A. Macdonald's youngest daughter Margaret Mary Macdonald.
Trudeau earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature from McGill University and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of British Columbia. After he graduated, Trudeau worked as a social studies, drama, math and French elementary and high school teacher. He taught at West Point Grey Academy and Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In opposition
Trudeau was elected for the first time in the 2008 federal election. He was the nominee for the Liberal Party in the electoral area of Papineau. He won more votes than the incumbent, Vivian Barbot of the Bloc Québécois.
2015 federal election
On October 19, 2015, Trudeau and the Liberals won the most seats in the federal election. This was after one of the longest campaigns in over 100 years. The Liberals won 184 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons and 39.5% of the total vote. Because of this, they formed a majority government. Their seat count went up by 150 compared to the 2011 federal election.
The results were the second-best in the history of the Liberal Party. They did very well in the eastern half of Canada. They won all of the seats in Atlantic Canada and Toronto and won 40 seats in Quebec. In Quebec, they won the most seats since Pierre Trudeau's win in the 1980 election. It was also the first time since 1980 that the Liberals won more than half the seats in Quebec. The 150 seat gain was the biggest gain for any party in an election since Canadian Confederation. It was also the first time that a party went from third place in seat count to a majority government.
Prime Minister of Canada
Trudeau and the Cabinet he chose were sworn in by the Governor General David Johnston on November 4, 2015.
In 2022, he invoked the Emergencies Act in response to the Canada convoy protest, the first time the act was brought into force since it was enacted in 1988.
2019 federal election
Trudeau visited the Governor General, Julie Payette on September 11, 2019. This was to ask that Parliament be dissolved and new elections would begin.
For the first time since 1979, the party that won the largest share of the national popular vote did not win the most seats. The Liberals under Trudeau had 33.1 per cent of the popular vote, while the Conservatives under Andrew Scheer had 34.4 per cent. It was also the first time a government took power with less than 35 per cent of the national popular vote since 1867.
2021 federal election
On September 20, 2021 Trudeau and the Liberal Party won re-election as the party won 160 seats, allowing them to form a minority government.
Personal life
Trudeau first met his wife, Sophie Grégoire, when they were both children growing up in Montreal. Grégoire was a friend of Trudeau's brother, Michel. They were married on May 28, 2005 in a Catholic wedding at the Sainte-Madeleine d'Outremont Church in Montreal. On August 2, 2023, Trudeau and Grégoire's separation was announced. They have three children together: a son, Xavier James Trudeau (born October 18, 2007), a daughter, Ella-Grace Margaret Trudeau (born February 5, 2009), and another son, Hadrien Grégoire Trudeau (born February 28, 2014).
On March 12, 2020, Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau isolated themselves, after she showed flu-like symptoms during the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. The Prime Minister's Office announced later that day that she had tested positive for COVID-19.
References
Other websites
Official website
Liberal Party of Canada profile
1971 births
Living people
Canadian feminists
Canadian Roman Catholics
Current national leaders
People from Ottawa
Politicians from Ontario
Privy Councillors (Canada) Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec University of British Columbia alumni