In 2015, Canada voted to replace their Conservative majority government with the formerly third-ranked
Liberal Party.
As the head of that party, Justin Trudeau became Canada’s new Prime Minister, sparking
a number of progressive changes.
Although the 44-year-old may seem like a newcomer, he has actually been in the political sphere
since his birth, as the son of Canada’s 15th Prime Minister.
So, who exactly is Justin Trudeau?
Well, Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau has been considered one of Canada’s best leaders,
and the quote “father of modern Canada”.
When Justin was four months old, visiting President Richard Nixon predicted that he
would eventually be the future Prime Minister.
However, despite the younger Trudeau’s political upbringing, he chose to be a teacher after
finishing college.
He didn’t hold a position in government until his appointment on a task force for
youth renewal at the age of 34.
Still, his role as the son of a Prime Minister had already allowed him to advocate for progressive
causes, including environmental reform and youth volunteer programs.
In 2007, just a year after entering government politics, Trudeau won the nomination of his
Liberal party to run against the Bloc Quebecois party in the 2008 federal election.
His narrow victory to represent the Papineau district in Parliament immediately began speculations
about his potential run for Prime Minister.
However, it took until 2012 for him to enter the race for the Liberal leadership, which
he eventually won with 80% of the vote.
This streak continued into the 2015 election, where the Liberal party went from being the
third party in Parliament to the majority.
His time in politics has been marked by youth-slanted views, including the legalization of marijuana,
which he admitted to having smoked as recently as 2010.
He also made headlines when he named himself a feminist, and populated his cabinet with
a gender balanced staff.
When asked why this was important, he answered simply, “Because it’s 2015”.
Trudeau has widely supported women’s rights, including a strong pro-choice stance despite
religious and Conservative opposition.
He has also championed Canada’s obligations towards its long marginalized indigenous people.
In a meeting with tribal leaders, he stressed greater education opportunities, and a focus
on giving the First Nations their entitled constitutional rights.
He has even suggested that Pope Francis to apologize on behalf of the catholic church
for abuses against native populations.
Trudeau has been an exceptionally popular political personality, and to many, represents
the modern face of Canada’s future.
But despite his social policies, detractors say that he has little experience with economic
or foreign policy decisions.
Still, his economic plans to raise taxes on high income earners has been met positively
by suburban families, and likely contributed to his 2015 victory.
Whether he will be able to address those political concerns as well as he has addressed social
ones is as of yet to be seen .
So how much influence can Trudeau’s ideas have over Canada, and more importantly, over
the rest of the world?
Check out our video, How Powerful Is Canada to find out!
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