Love him or loathe him, Justin Trudeau will always be remembered as Canada's 23rd Prime Minister. His nine-year tenure as Canada's Head of Government is nearing its conclusion, with Canadians counting down the days to his final moments in office. In this article, we will review his political career through the following points.
Political career of Justin Trudeau
- Overview of Justin Trudeau's route to become Canada's Head of Government
- Domestic and foreign policies during his term of office
- Significant contributions during his governance
- Criticism and challenges faced
Justin Trudeau's Rise To Power — A Prominent Political Journey
First, let's go through the different stages of Justin Trudeau's political career. His prominent media presence, even before officially entering politics, was largely due to his father, Pierre Trudeau, who was highly regarded as one of Canada's best Prime Ministers. As a child, he was accustomed to following his father on official state visits to different countries and gradually stayed away from the public's eyes following his father's retirement.
In 2000, he was in the limelight again when he delivered an eulogy for his father. Many speculations arose on whether the young Trudeau would follow in his father's footsteps to become a politician. Canadians' speculations were proven right when Trudeau started taking some supporting roles in the LPC after a few years.
In 2008, Trudeau contested for the first time as a Member of Parliament (MP) of Papineau and won. But because the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) didn't win the overall federal election that year, he continued to support the party with more active roles such as becoming the party's critic in parliament.
Essentially the role of being a spokesperson of an opposition party in the parliament in a particular field. He or she monitors the government's policies, engages in debates and holds the government accountable.
Trudeau remained a member of the opposition until the Liberal Party managed to form a majority government during the 2013 federal election. One of the main reasons that contributed to LPC's ultimate victory was Trudeau's decision to become the leader of LPC. Like his father, Justin Trudeau was highly ranked in terms of party popularity and individual polls, especially among the younger generation. The same year, he was sworn in as Canada's 23rd Prime Minister — marking the beginning of the Trudeau family legacy.
1971
Born in Ottawa, first son of the 15th Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau and his wife, Margaret Trudeau.
2000
Received public attention when he delivered an eulogy during his father's funeral.
2006
Officially became active in politics at the LPC when he was tasked with chairing the youth renewal initiative when the LPC lost the federal election.
2007
Won the party nomination to contest for the Montréal riding of Papineau.
2008
Officially became an MP of Papineau during the federal election as an opposition.
2009
Became his party's critic for youth and multiculturalism.
2010
Became his party's critic for youth, citizenship, and immigration.
2011
Reelected as MP of Papineau during the federal election.
2013
Won the election as leader of the LPC.
2015
Became Canada's Prime Minister after LPC won the majority government.
2019
Re-elected as PM with a minority government.
2021
Re-elected as PM with a minority government.
2025
Officially announced his resignation.
Major Domestic Policies During Trudeau's Administration
First, let's dive into some of the fundamental domestic policies of Justin Trudeau's government. We will be focusing on the policies relating to these three spheres: economic, social, and environmental.
📈Economic Policies
In 2015, the Canadian government announced a reduction of the personal income tax rate from 22 per cent to 20.5 per cent. This new tax policy was initiated to ease the burden on the middle class.
Trudeau also launched the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), where families with a child/children below 18 years of age receive monthly payment programs. The amount varies according to the family's annual income and the number of children to help with the cost of raising children.
👥Social Policies
Trudeau made a political and social statement by promising to create a Cabinet with equal gender composition. For the first time, the Canadian government structure consisted of a balanced representation of 15 men and 15 women in 2015. In the subsequent Cabinet reshuffles, the equal representation of both male and female ministers continued.
Trudeau also attempted to foster reconciliation with the Indigenous People while honestly addressing the country's colonial past. Under the key actions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), his government passed Bill C-15 to ensure the rights of the Indigenous People in Canada are legally ensured following the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
🌳Environment Policies
Trudeau is one of the most recent Canadian Prime Ministers to advocate for climate action and sustainability strongly. He introduced the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act which implemented a nationwide carbon tax on fossil fuels like gasoline, natural gas, and coal.
This policy caused a mixed reaction among Canadians. Under his leadership, the federal government also allocated a large portion of the budget to invest in various clean-energy projects.
Allocation over a decade by the federal government for clean technology.
International Relations During Trudeau's Leadership
There are many foreign policies and international relations under the Trudeau government but we'll focus on international relations with two countries — America and China because these two countries are Canada's two largest trade partners.
America is undeniably Canada's greatest ally economically and geopolitically. Throughout Trudeau's time in office, he collaborated with three American presidents and made several official visits to the country.
| Administration | Obama (2015–2017) | Trump (2017–2021) | Biden (2021–2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall bilateral relationship | Generally close relationship | Strained relationship due to differing views on tariff rates on imported goods | Generally cordial relationship |
| Key milestone | Implementing environmental cooperation together through the U.S.-Canada Joint Statement on Climate, Energy, and Arctic Leadership. | Eventually, both sides negotiated to implement the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2018 | Established The Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership to embrace challenges post-pandemic. |
When he first stepped in, Trudeau had high expectations to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties with China. However, many unexpected events occurred, leading to a strained and cautious relationship between the two countries.
| Year | Occurence | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Trudeau's official first visit to China | Trudeau visited Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Hong Kong over a 8-day visit to foster strong Canada- China bilateral relations. |
| 2018 | Arrest of Meng Wanzhou | The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver at the request of America, leading to further tensions. She was detailed in Canada under house arrest for nearly 3 years. |
| 2018 | Detention of Two Michaels | Following Meng's detention, the Chinese government detained Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. They were imprisoned for a similar period as Meng in China. Eventually, they were released on the same day Meng was released. |
| 2022 | Allegations of Election Interference | Tensions between two countries escalated when there were reportedly interference by the the Chinese government during the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal election. |
| 2024 | Imposition of Tariffs | Trudeau announced a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and announced a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum from China. |
Notable Contributions As Canada's Prime Minister
To understand any leader's legacy, we have to evaluate the pros and cons, the good and bad of their policies, decision-making process and overall governance. These assessments can help us to objectively look at what worked, and what didn't work, which will serve as good parameters for the future Canadian government. Let's look at his contributions first:
Signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)
Supported the Paris Agreement, and passed the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, affirming Canada's global standing on this matter.
Examples include the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit (CWLB) and the Canada Emergency Business Account for small businesses
Equal gender representation in the Cabinet, and appointment of more female leaders in high positions, introduced shared parental leave through the Parental Sharing Benefit.
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Criticisms and Crisis As Canada's Prime Minister
Throughout Trudeau's leadership from 2015 up to 2024, he has experienced many political crises. In fact, some of these issues gradually caused internal division among his fellow Liberals and opposition from other political parties in the country like the Conservative Party of Canada, and New Democratic Party (NDP). Here are some key examples of the crisis faced by Trudeau during his tenure in office.:
The SNC-Lavalin affair where Trudeau allegedly intervened in a criminal case, and the WE charity scandal which involved Trudeau's family members — his mother and brother.
The inflation rate reached its peak at 8.1% in June 2022. With increased government spending, it's no surprise that the government records consecutive deficits where total federal net debt and provincial net debt per person have risen.
Trudeau was criticized for invoking the Emergency Act for the first time in the nation's history during the Freedom Convoy protest and the lack of adequate response following China's election interference allegation.
Approved the Trans Mountain Pipeline project, which seems to be contradictory to his claims to be supportive of environmental actions. Trudeau was also seen to be quick on promises and slow on actions when it comes to reconciliation actions with the Indigenous community — especially clean water access.
Subsequently, several prominent figures within the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) resigned in protest against Trudeau's policies and his handling of the crisis. The breaking point of Trudeau's relationship with his own party members came with the resignation of Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland in December 2024, who disagreed with Trudeau over tariff policies.
On 6th January 2025, Justin Trudeau announced his decision to resign as the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada. He will remain the Prime Minister until a new leader from LPC is elected. Canadians are also expected to participate in a federal election this year once parliament is dissolved.
We hope this article has offered you some insights on Trudeau's political journey as the Prime Minister of Canada. All eyes will be set on his future plans, and also on who will be Canada's next Prime Minister. But one thing is for sure, he or she has a huge task ahead. As William Shakespeare famously said, "Heavy is the head that wears the crown."
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