June 13, 2019 | Rachel Seigel

43 Commanding Facts About Justin Trudeau


“I am a teacher. It's how I define ilyself. A good teacher isn't someone who gives the answers out to their kids but is understanding of needs and challenges and gives tools to help other people succeed. That's the way I see myself, so whatever it is that I will do eventually after politics, it'll have to do a lot with teaching.” - Justin Trudeau

Justin Trudeau was born in Ottawa on Christmas Day 1971 to Margaret Trudeau and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He is Canada’s 23rd Prime Minister and the current leader of Canada’s Liberal Party. Here are 43 facts about Canada's charismatic commander-in-chief.


43. A Capital Birth

Trudeau is the first Canadian Prime Minister to be born in the nation’s capital, Ottawa.

Justin Trudeau FactsPixabay

42. Only Once Before

Trudeau is only the second child in Canadian history to be born to a serving Prime Minister. The first instance was when Margaret Mary Macdonald was born to Sir John A. Macdonald.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

41. Like Father, Like Son

Another record-breaker: As the son of Pierre Trudeau, Justin Trudeau is the only Canadian Prime Minister who is related to a previous Prime Minister.

Justin Trudeau Facts Getty Images

40. October 18

October 18 has special meaning to Trudeau: It is his father’s birthday, the day he proposed to his wife Sophie Gregoire, and the day that his first child was born.

 

Justin Trudeau FactsShutterstock

39. A Family Acquaintance

Sophie Gregoire Trudeau was a classmate and friend of Trudeau’s youngest brother Michel, and spent a lot of time in the Trudeau home before she started dating Justin.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

38. A Royal Proposal

Following a couple’s massage with champagne and oysters, Trudeau proposed to Sophie at the Royal Suite of the St. James Hotel in Old Montreal. The site was also the location of their wedding reception.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

36. Papineau

In the 2007 mini-series The Great War, Trudeau portrayed soldier and Rhodes Scholar Talbot Mercer Papineau; Papineau was killed in the Battle of Passchendaele. Coincidentally, Trudeau won the nomination for the riding of Papineau in Quebec the same month the mini-series aired on TV.

Justin Trudeau FactsFlickr,Alex Guibord

 

35. Eight and Eight

Trudeau is the eighth person whose name starts with the letter J to become Prime Minister. He is also the eighth person to do so while in their 40s.

Justin Trudeau FactsWikipedia

34. Young but not Youngest

Joe Clark holds the record for being Canada’s youngest Prime Minister; he was sworn in one day before his 40th birthday. Trudeau, having been sworn in at the age of 43, is the second youngest Prime Minister in Canada’s history.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

33. Professor Trudeau

Before getting into politics, Trudeau taught high school French, drama and math.

Justin Trudeau FactsShutterstock

32. A True Heavyweight

Nobody can accuse Trudeau of not being able to take a punch! The PM has participated in several charity boxing matches, and famously beat Canadian Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau in a charity match in 2012.

Rod Serling factsPixabay

 

31. Inked

Justin has a large tattoo on his arm that is actually composed of two separate tattoos. He first got a globe when he was 23, and then added a Haida raven around the earlier tattoo when he turned 40. The raven represents the Aboriginal people who live in the Haida Gwaii territory in British Columbia and parts of Alaska.

Kurt Cobain FactsShutterstock

 

30. What a Girl Wants

Trudeau raised around $1,900 Canadian for liver disease by performing a partial strip-tease at a the "What a Girl Wants" Gala in 2011. While Trudeau is known for his abs, he kept things PG and only stripped down to his tank top.

Justin Trudeau FactsShutterstock

 

29. Famous in Iceland

In August 2017, a friend of Radio Host Bill Carroll discovered a Trudeau shirt for sale in Reykjavik, Iceland. The tee depicts a shirtless Trudeau in front of mountains, flanked by a moose and a bear.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

 

28. You Can Go Home Again

Trudeau’s childhood home was 24 Sussex Drive, which is the official residence of Canada’s Prime Minister. When the renovations and repairs on the residence are complete, Trudeau will move back into the residence with his family.

Justin Trudeau FactsWikimedia Commons

 

27. Balancing Act

Most politicians stick with simply holding babies, but Trudeau has a trick that separates him from the rest of the pack. He credits his dad with teaching him how to balance babies, which makes for a great photo op and a souvenir for the proud parents.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

 

26. Life of the Party

Trudeau has a party trick: he throws himself down a flight of stairs and gets up unscathed. He even performed the stunt at his wedding reception.

Justin Trudeau FactsShutterstock

 

25. Family Tragedy

Trudeau suffered the loss of his younger brother Michel: the sibling was swept away by an avalanche while skiing in 1998. The tragedy inspired Trudeau to get involved with the Canadian Avalanche Foundation, and he later became its director.

Mae West FactsShutterstock

 

24. Burying the Hatchet

Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney called Pierre Trudeau his nemesis, even spending an entire chapter of his memoirs criticizing him. Despite this rivalry, Justin Trudeau and Ben Mulroney, Brian's son, are good friends. Brian Mulroney even endorsed Justin for PM.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

 

23. Thank You!

The day after the election, Trudeau thanked voters in an unexpected place: He spent the morning in a Montreal Subway station saying thank you to commuters.

Acts of Generosity FactsPexels

 

22. Surprisingly Open

Trudeau has repeatedly demonstrated that he isn’t afraid to get personal in an interview. He has spoken frankly about his mother’s mental illness (she has bipolar disorder) and his wife’s battle with eating disorders.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

 

21. Planks like a Pro

A viral photo of Trudeau performing a yoga pose in an office on Parliament Hill shows off his core strength. The photo shows Trudeau supporting himself only with his hands on the table, while his legs jut out horizontally into the air.

Justin Trudeau FactsShutterstock

 

20. A Sentimental Seat

One of the first things Trudeau did when he moved into his new office was reinstall his father’s old desk.

Justin Trudeau FactsShutterstock

 

 19. Comic Book Cameo

In 1979, Pierre Trudeau appeared in an issue of Uncanny X-Men. In 2016, Justin followed in his father’s footsteps, appearing on the variant cover of Civil War II: Choosing Sides.

Justin Trudeau FactsShutterstock

 

18. I Want Her to Play Me!

Trudeau once said that if a movie was ever made about his life, he’d like to be played by Meryl Streep.

king kong factsGetty Images

 

17. A Warm Welcome

When Canada welcomed its first group of Syrian Refugees, Trudeau went to the Toronto airport to personally greet them and help hand out winter coats.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

 

16. Not His “Friend”

Matthew Perry and Justin Trudeau went to the same grade school in Canada. In a 2017 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Perry admitted to beating up Trudeau in 5th grade because he was jealous of the future PM's athletic ability.

Matthew Perry Visits Bauer Radio.Getty Images

 

15. Most Influential

In April 2016, Trudeau was named one of Time magazine’s “Most Influential People” in the "Leader" category. Fellow Canadian and SNL boss Lorne Michaels wrote his feature.

Justin Trudeau FactsPxHere

 

14. And Powerful too!

Trudeau was also ranked 66th on Forbes’ Most Powerful People of 2016.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

 

13. Feminism

Trudeau is a self-proclaimed feminist. He believes in gender equality, and even appointed a 50% female cabinet. When asked why he felt that this move was important, he replied: “Because it’s 2015.”

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

 

12. Not Just a Pretty Face

When a reporter assumed that Trudeau couldn’t understand the concept of quantum computing, Trudeau shocked the audience by explaining how the concept works without missing a beat.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

 

11. A Presidential Prediction

At a state dinner attended by Trudeau’s father in 1972, Richard Nixon predicted that Trudeau, who was just a baby at the time, would one day succeed his father as Prime Minister.

History's Greatest Tragedies quizGetty Images

 

10. Well That Was Awkward

Trudeau got caught in a rare awkward moment when he found himself in the middle of a three-way handshake between US President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto at the 2016 “Three Amigos Summit.”

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

 

9. Game Over, Man

Four years before he became Prime Minister for real, the video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution portrayed Trudeau as the Prime Minister of Canada.

Justin Trudeau FactsFlickr,BagoGames

 

8. Cousin of the Opposition

An Ancestry.com search revealed that Trudeau and former NDP leader Thomas Mulcair are 9th cousins. They are distantly related by their 8th great-grandparents dating back 400 years.

Justin Trudeau FactsWikimedia Commons

 

7. First PM to March

Trudeau made history in July 2016 when he became the first Canadian Prime Minister to march in the Toronto Gay Pride Parade. Trudeau had previously attended parades in Vancouver and Toronto, but never as the country’s leader.

True Urban Legends factsPixabay

 

6. From Flower Child to First Lady

Trudeau’s mother Margaret Trudeau was famous in her own right. She was a "flower child" before becoming the Prime Minister’s wife. In her youth she partied at Studio 54, and even dated Jack Nicholson and Ted Kennedy.

Justin Trudeau FactsGetty Images

 

5. Showing an Artistic Side

Trudeau has a talent for drawing. His watercolor sketch of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights was auctioned off for charity on e-Bay and sold for $25,000. Postcard prints of the sketch were given to Liberal Party donors.

Justin Trudeau FactsShutterstock

 

4. Playing with Lego

Trudeau called Star Wars: The Force Awakens a “life-changing movie,” and admitted that he bought his son a LEGO Millennium Falcon set so he could build it himself.

Justin Trudeau FactsShutterstock

3. It’s All About the Socks

Novelty socks are something of an obsession for the Canadian PM, and he’s been seen sporting special socks for different occasions. He’s worn socks with red maple leafs in tribute to Canada’s flag, NATO-themed socks for a NATO meeting, and Star Wars socks for a meeting that fell on May 4th, which is International Star Wars Day.

Justin Trudeau FactsShutterstock

 

2. Prime Minister Panda Cuddler

The Internet went wild when Justin Trudeau was photographed cuddling with the baby pandas at the Toronto Zoo during their naming ceremony. Trudeau said that the cubs were a symbol of Canada’s strong relationship with China.

Happy FactsMax Pixel

 

1. A Man of Substance

Trudeau has been criticized for the number of selfies that he takes with the people he meets, but he argues that being connected with people is essential to serving Canadians, and that government is not about image but substance.

Justin Trudeau FactsShutterstock

 

Sources:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11


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