On January 6, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he would be stepping down as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. It had been coming. Last month, then deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland resigned from cabinet with a scathing letter to the prime minister, and it felt like the moment had arrived. But, looking back over Trudeau’s nearly ten years in power, there have been many scandals, controversies, gaffes, and -gates—some that easily could have led to a resignation.
Elbowgate (2016)
During a tense vote in Parliament, Trudeau elbowed and reportedly swore at New Democratic Party MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau. “I want to take the opportunity,” Trudeau said after being called out, “to be able to express directly to [Brosseau] my apologies for my behaviour and my actions, unreservedly.”
Aga Khan Ethics Breach (2017)
Canada’s conflict-of-interest and ethics commissioner found Trudeau broke several federal laws by accepting a vacation to the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas, becoming the first prime minister to violate ethics rules since they were put in place in 2006. “I’ve always considered the Aga Khan a close family friend, which is why I didn’t clear this family trip in the first place,” Trudeau said on the floor of the House of Commons. “But given the commissioner’s report, I will be taking all precautions in the future.”
Justin Goes to India (2018)
Trudeau’s trip to India was criticized for his choice of attire and for the invite to Jaspal Atwal, convicted for attempted murder, to official events.
SNC-Lavalin Affair (2019)
Trudeau was accused of pressuring then attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in a criminal case against SNC-Lavalin, the Montreal-based engineering company accused of fraud and corruption. Wilson-Raybould and then Treasury Board president Jane Philpott both resigned, as did Gerald Butts, Trudeau’s principal secretary.
Brownface and Blackface (2019)
Photos and videos emerged of Trudeau wearing brownface makeup, dressing up at an “Arabian Nights” party in 2001 while a teacher at a private school, and wearing blackface makeup in the 1990s. When asked how often he wore similar makeup, he couldn’t recall. “I am wary of being definitive about this because of the recent pictures that came out, I had not remembered,” Trudeau told reporters.
WE Charity Scandal (2020)
Trudeau’s government awarded the $912 million Canada Student Service Grant contract to WE Charity, an organization with close ties to members of his family, who had been paid for speaking at WE events, raising questions about conflicts of interest.
Day at the Beach (2021)
Trudeau decided to go on vacation to Tofino, British Columbia, on the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation instead of visiting Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, which had invited him to Kamloops, BC, months after more than 200 possible unmarked burial sites were found on the grounds of a former residential school. “Travelling on the 30th [of September] was a mistake and I regret it,” Trudeau later told reporters.
Karaoke Controversy (2022)
Trudeau was caught on camera singing Queen anthem “Bohemian Rhapsody” in a hotel lobby in London, UK, days before attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Nazi in Parliament (2023)
Yaroslav Hunka, a Ukrainian Canadian former SS soldier, was honoured in the House of Commons and given two standing ovations that included Trudeau and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was speaking to Parliament. Speaker Anthony Rota, who had invited Hunka, later resigned. It was subsequently revealed that the Office of the Prime Minister had also invited Hunka to a rally in Toronto with Zelenskyy, but he never attended.
Foreign Interference (2024)
Having already been made aware by the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service of foreign interference by China on several occasions, Trudeau’s cabinet was found to have redacted and concealed documents from an official inquiry.
