Justin Trudeau

Justin Pierre James Trudeau served as Canada's 23rd prime minister from 2015 to 2025, leading the Liberal Party through three federal elections and representing the riding of Papineau as an MP from 2008 until 2025. Born December 25, 1971, in Ottawa, Ontario, he was the eldest child of then–prime minister Pierre Trudeau. He attended Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from McGill University and a Bachelor of Education from the University of British Columbia, later teaching secondary school in Vancouver before returning to Montreal in 2002.

Before entering Parliament, Trudeau chaired Katimavik, a youth charity, from 2002 to 2006, and then led the Liberal Party's Task Force on Youth Renewal. Elected to the House of Commons in 2008, he held roles as Official Opposition critic for youth and multiculturalism, citizenship and immigration, and post-secondary education. Elected Liberal leader in 2013, he won the 2015 federal election with a majority government, becoming the second-youngest prime minister in Canadian history and the first to be a previous prime minister's child.

His first term introduced the Canada Child Benefit, legalized medical assistance in dying and recreational cannabis, created the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, and established a federal carbon tax. He signed the Paris Agreement on climate change, resettled Syrian refugees, and negotiated trade deals including CUSMA and CPTPP. The ethics commissioner found him twice in violation of conflict-of-interest law—in the Aga Khan affair and the SNC-Lavalin affair.

Re-elected with minority governments in 2019 and 2021, Trudeau navigated the COVID-19 pandemic with vaccination campaigns and financial aid, banned "assault-style" weapons after the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks, and launched a $10-a-day child care program and national school food program. He invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history to respond to the Freedom Convoy protests; the Federal Court later ruled against this action. His government signed a confidence and supply agreement with the New Democratic Party, introducing the Canadian Dental Care Plan and a pharmacare framework.

International policy included sanctions on Russia and military aid to Ukraine following the 2022 invasion, and a trade war with the United States in 2024–2025, to which he responded with 25% retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion of U.S. goods. Following declining popularity and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland's resignation in December 2024, Trudeau announced his resignation in January 2025. He remained Liberal leader until Mark Carney was elected his successor on March 9, 2025, and resigned as prime minister five days later. As a Capricorn with a Life Path Number 1, Trudeau embodied pioneering leadership throughout his tenure. A Canadian politician, he served in elected office from 2008 to 2025.