I was today years old when I learned that Canadian prime ministers don’t have term limits. Basically, Justin Trudeau will be prime minister until he loses an election or his party throws him out. I have no idea about Canadian politics (sorry, Canadians), so I have no idea if this news will truly affect Prime Minister Trudeau’s popularity, his government or his image. The news? Justin Trudeau has separated from his wife of eighteen years, Sophie Gregoire. They have three minor children together: Xavier, 15, Hadrien, 9, and 14-year-old Ella-Grace. Single and ready to mingle Justin Trudeau, anyone?
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife of 18 years, Sophie Grégoire, are separating. Trudeau, 52, shared the news on Wednesday in a post published in both English and French on Instagram, writing: “Hi everyone, Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversation, we have made the decision to separate.”
Trudeau continued: “As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build. For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our and their privacy. Thank you.”
The Canadian Prime Minister’s office confirmed the news to PEOPLE, saying in a statement that the couple have “signed a legal separation agreement.”
“They have worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward,” the statement said.
The statement continued: “They remain a close family and Sophie and the Prime Minister are focused on raising their kids in a safe, loving and collaborative environment. Both parents will be a constant presence in their children’s lives and Canadians can expect to often see the family together.”
Trudeau’s office added that the family “will be together on vacation, beginning next week.”
Trudeau has been in office since 2015.
If you’re going to do all of the child-rearing together and vacation together, why even separate? I mean… I get it though. I suspect that there is a reason why they can’t just live separate lives and stay together technically. I suspect that we’ll find out “the reason” at some point. But yeah, even if there’s not some big reason, like an affair, I get why Sophie was probably done with all of it. Her husband has been prime minister for eight years, the kids have been in the spotlight all that time and she’s probably very tired of all of it. Who shoots their shot first, Ivanka or Melania?
PS… Justin and Sophie were just together at King Charles’s coronation. I really disliked her dress.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey, London. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau,Image: 724195164, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Adam Gerrard / Avalon
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- Justin Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire arrive at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom, on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774208119, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Peter Tarry / Avalon
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- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada at the Coronation of King Charles III in London Westminster Abbey 06 May 2023,Image: 774237970, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Mark Stewart / Avalon
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- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak receives Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau at Downing Street, London, UK, on 06 May 2023,Image: 774247477, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: James Veysey/Shutterstock / Avalon
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- North America Rights Only – Rome, Italy – 05/29/17 – Prime Minster Justin Trudeau Meets Pope Francis at The Vatican -PICTURED: Sophie Gregoire Trudeau -PHOTO by: INSTARimages.com Editorial Rights Managed Image – Please contact www.INSTARimages.com for licensing fee and rights: North America Inquiries: email sales@instarimages.com or call 212.414.0207 – UK Inquiries: email ben@instarimages.com or call + 7715 698 715 – Australia Inquiries: email sarah@instarimages.com.au Êor call +02 9660 0500 Ð for any other Country, please email sales@instarimages.com. ÊImage or video may not be published in any way that is or might be deemed defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene / Please consult our sales department for any clarification or question you may have – http://www.INSTARimages.com reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image or video. If you are in violation of our intellectual property you may be liable for actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image or video, and where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or statutory damage. Featuring: Sophie Gregoire Trudeau Where: Rome, Italy, Italy When: 29 May 2017 Credit: INSTARimages.com **North America Rights Only**
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- USA Rights Only – Ottawa, Canada – 7/1/2017 -The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall during their visit at Reconciliation, the Peacekeeping Monument, near the ByWard Market in Ottawa, during day three of their visit to Canada. -PICTURED: Justin Trudeau, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau with kids, Prince Charles, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall -PHOTO by: PA Images/INSTARimages.com -Instar_British_Royals_Canada_0730660731.JPG Editorial Rights Managed Image – Please contact www.INSTARimages.com for licensing fee and rights: North America Inquiries: email sales@instarimages.com or call 212.414.0207 – UK Inquiries: email ben@instarimages.com or call + 7715 698 715 – Australia Inquiries: email sarah@instarimages.com.au Êor call +02 9660 0500 Ð for any other Country, please email sales@instarimages.com. ÊImage or video may not be published in any way that is or might be deemed defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene / Please consult our sales department for any clarification or question you may have – http://www.INSTARimages.com reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image or video. If you are in violation of our intellectual property you may be liable for actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image or video, and where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or statutory damage. Featuring: Justin Trudeau, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau with kids, Prince Charles, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall Where: Ottawa, Canada, Canada When: 01 Jul 2017 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com **USA Rights Only**
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- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey, London. Featuring: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Trudeau Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
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- (191022) — MONTREAL, Oct. 22, 2019 () — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau wave to people at the Liberal Party campaign headquarters in Montreal, Canada, Oct. 21, 2019. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party won the 2019 Canadian federal election Monday night, according to Elections Canada on Tuesday. (Photo by Raffi Kirdi/)
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- 08 June 2018, La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau wait outside the Hotel Fairmont Le Manoir to greet politicians attending the G7 summit. Photo: Michael Kappeler/
Rumors of them living separately have been ongoing for years now, I’m not surprised. It was rumored she was wanting to file for divorce but then he ran for PM so she put a stop to it. There’ve also been rumors that he’s a cheater but so knows exactly? Good luck to the both of them. I love JT and I don’t think his career will be affected by this ibn any way, marriages break up all the time.
Yes, rumours of affairs on both sides for years and that they have been separated for awhile.
I’m not sure this will impact his career prospects though I don’t love that he is running again and wish the party had done more to cultivate a strong leadership successor. His dad was a terrifically successful PM while divorced and having primary custody of his kids so not sure it is a strike against him.
I don’t care about his personal life unless he is doing something wildly unethical. As long as he does his job.
“They have worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward,” the statement said.”
So he’ll be legal and ethical in his divorce but not in his politics. Seems legit
I think they’ve been quite a lot of rumours that theirs was an open mariage which, whatever, as long as everyone is on board is fine I guess.
But I’m pretty sure Sophie hoped that he would step down and not seek reelection… Which he should, there has been ethical problems and refusing a public inquiry about Chinese influence in certain elections is dumb: time for a new leader to avoid Poilievre as PM. The general political climate is unhinged: JT already had rocks thrown at him last election and had to wear a bullet-proof vest a few times, the convoy, etc. I too would want to step away from all this, ensure my kids are safe and anonymous and just enjoy being stupidly rich and go to some foundation dinners once in a while.
A friend of mine knows one of his mistresses in Calgary. I agree I think they just had an arrangement but with all the attacks from the Conservative nut jobs she’d had enough.
The right-wing in Canada has gotten progressively more unhinged and scary. I’m sure it was a factor in her considerations of the timing of this separation.
I agree with you both. There’s been a massive change in the way the RWNJs and the Conservative Party (big Venn diagram overlap) have amped up their vitriol, starting with former PM Harper.
I’m sorry they’ve split, but it sounds like they’re handling this in the best way possible.
Yeah, if he were Conservative leader, it would be more of a bombshell because they make such a song and dance about traditional family, but I can’t see Liberal supporters being that bothered by it. But the vitriol towards him out there is already pretty intense, and support for Trudeau doesn’t seem that enthusiastic, so I don’t know what his chances will be anyway.
If you love him I guess you don’t think the cheating rumours you mention are true?
Not the person you are asking but I’ve thought they were effectively separated for years.
I believe some of the rumours about the affairs had by both of them (not all – they’d have no time for anything else if they were all true) but I don’t think either of them were cheating as such so personally it doesn’t bother me.
I suppose this is directed at me? As I said, they’re rumors and I can’t substantiate them one way or another. I don’t know any of these folks personally so I can love him as my PM whether he’s a cheater or not. Again, I don’t know any of them and really the rumors of cheating are on both sides so……
Whatever works for them is fine by me, it’s their marriage, their business. As they say, not my pig not my farm and certainly not my problem.
Nobody knows what a marriage is like except the two people in it. They have likely had an agreement in place for years. It’s really not anyone else’s business.
They were both cheating. It’s believed him first. Justin with Melanie Joly, his Minister of Foreign Affairs. Madame Joly is also married, it’ll be interesting to see if her marriage survives. Sophie with her yoga instructor. There was a situation a while back in 2020’ish where both Sophie and the yoga instructor both came down with Covid, at the same time. Justin did not and had to self isolate.
Idris Elba and Sophie did some event together in 2020 and both got covid .. some of the first ‘celebrities’ to get it. Rumours about them went rampant from then on. I think it’s ridiculous, the rumours. People think when 2 good looking people are within 2 feet of each other, they cant resist. I think the rumours about Joly are ridiculous too. She’s a pretty woman, so she has to be shtupping the prime minister, lets just erase all her achievements. Trudeau is also close and affectionate with his Deputy Prime Minister, but she’s not as gorgeous, so no rumours there. Silly imo. I may be proven wrong but it still irks me. Trudeau is handsy and affectionate with everyone. They post a photo of him having a great time at PEI pride parade and now have him coming out of the closet.
Melanie Joly and her partner have been going through IVF treatment trying to get pregnant so I doubt very much that an affair ever took place. These are all just ugly rumours and frankly none of our business. Their private lives should remain just that — private — so please stop spreading unfounded and baseless nonsense.
I would have zero judgment for anyone who got busy with Idris Elba, given the chance.
I think we can all understand that one.
If that rumor was true, then good for her.
Too bad he’s peaked.
LOL this comment made me laugh.
That’s what I’m here for! 😁
I spent a lot of time in eastern Canada (Ontario, Quebec, and the maritime provinces), when I was in my twenties. It’s a very cool 😎 place so I doubt that this will affect Trudeau’s political fortunes in the least. Btw, his father was PM when I vacationed there. And his mum was always making headlines for her unorthodox behavior. She was later diagnosed as bi-polar.
Thanks for visiting Canada 40 or 50 years ago. There’s a little more to Margaret’s story, Pierre met her as a teenager and by 22 she was married to him and the youngest first lady, ever, I think in Canada. Re: her coverage in the news at the time, I think and hope that we are more aware and sensitive to how the media turns young vulnerable and beautiful women into storylines now.
Margaret didn’t receive bipolar diagnosis until much later in life and after losing one of her sons in a very tragic avalanche accident in the backcountry.
I would have visited more recently but my personal situation changed. It’s a beautiful country!
I’m aware of Margaret’s story. I am about her age and Pierre was my parents’ age at the time. So I thought this was unusual to say the least. It was tragic how Margaret was labelled and mocked, but mental health issues were rarely considered or taken seriously 50 years ago. I’m glad she’s been properly diagnosed and seems to be doing much better. Justin looks more like her than his dad I think.
Interesting tidbit: My mom was pregnant with my brother at the same time as Margaret was with Justin. 1971. My mom was young too (18) and sent Margaret a card and gift congratulating her on the birth of the baby .. she received an official letter back on PM stationary saying thank you . 🙂
I met her about 10 years ago when she was a keynote speaker at our annual conference. She was utterly charming, down to earth and unpretentious. Still absolutely gorgeous. She spoke with great candor about her struggles with bi-polar disorder, how it went misdiagnosed for many years, and how she had to experiment with many different cocktails of medication until the doctors hit on the right combination which works well for her to this day. I’ll always remember this quote from her…”Bi-polar disorder makes you feel like you’re still 14 all the time”. She wrote a great memoir, “Changing My Mind”, in 2010 that’s worth reading BTW.
I also did not care for her hat at the coronation as it looks from a distance like a lung perched jauntily on her head under the hat brim. I hope this works out for whatever they want from their future. In that vein, I’ve been seeing pictures pop up of a very attractive blonde government minister who frequently travels with Trudeau 🤔
@ Pinkosaurus, yup. The hat and the dress were a no for me. The only accessory that I somewhat liked was her clutch.
I had read last night of their separation and it was surprising as well as sad. I imagine being married, with small children, with a spouse in such a high position, it’s never easy or fair for the spouse and children. They may be able to work this out as well too as they are still functioning as a family as well, given that vacations, etc.
As for JT and his political career, I am not Canadian though I try to keep up with what is happening. I was appalled by their incessant Freedom drive which showed that they have unhinged constituents as well as us, in the US. When did people become such fools of stupidity and ignorance to seek out stunts to enforce their crazy??
America is contagious, unfortunately.
@Mazzie—“America is contagious”? Lol Canada has always had right wing kooks like every other country. I get that cognitive dissonance is the comfortable route for you in this scenario but it’s dangerous AF to think that right wing extremism isn’t everywhere, including the “bastion” of perfect liberalism that Canada sees itself as*.
*I mean, to white peoples. Native Americans have a VASTLY different opinion.
The anti vaxx convoy idiots were funded by American white supremacy groups. Canada has always been racist, but there is money coming in from the states to make things even worse.
That very attractive woman who travels with him happens to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs and it would be odd if she didn’t travel with him on foreign trips.
Melanie Joly has also been on the record trying to get pregnant with her partner using fertility treatments.
Exactly. Attractive women also are intelligent and have important careers. Let’s not feed into the biases we’ve been fed our whole lives. Change happens with women first. 😉
You’re correct. It is Melanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs. It’s credibly believed that she and Justin had, are having an affair. She’s married so it’ll be interesting if her marriage survives. Sophie is also believed to be having an affair with her yoga instructor (eye roll…so predictable). However, it’s alleged that he cheated first and her only long after.
I read Sophie was having an affair with her security detail. I am unsure we will ever know for sure.
It’s always sad to see a marriage break up, especially when there are kids involved. Keeping my fingers crossed though for their plans – apart but together – to work out for the sake of the kids.
That said, there have been rumors for quite some time about him straying, but it’s great how they were able to fool the general public about the state of their marriage. They seem still to be able to stand the other’s presence.
Unlike the Keenbridges of Wails.
They would also post positive things about each other on their individual IG accounts. But yes they were able to act like they didn’t hate each other when they did public engagements. And the kids weren’t used as obvious buffers.
It is hard to say why they decided this now. He certainly wants to run again, but the scuttlebutt is that she may have a serious relationship and doesn’t want to pretend anymore.
They didn’t post their normal gushing valentine’s day post this year; that was the clue for me that they had probably hit the skids.
Honestly, I’d grow really tired of being a politician’s wife rather than a private citizen too. Especially if I talked to my other half and he had no intention of stopping.
I think at some point, if your partner has supported your whole political career and if you are not willing to put it to rest and do other things that will make life easier for your family, Sophie is making the right move to love on if he is not willing.
In Canada, there are set dates for elections but every year, when presenting the budget, they can vote against it and call for an election. It’s always always on. Must be exhausting for a partner who sees no stop to you political ambition.
Very few people would be happy in that like I’m sure. Wish them well and happy kids in all of this
It sounds like they are on very good terms if they’re vacationing together next week, so my guess is it was just something where there was very little compromise – she wanted him to step down from being PM, he didn’t want to, or something along those lines. There were probably other issues but I can see something like that being the final straw, sort of like Giselle and Tom Brady – where there were probably other issues underlying everything but Tom refusing to retire was the final straw. You can’t really play pro football part-time. You can’t be the PM part-time.
Of course maybe there are rampant affairs and they loathe each other but it doesn’t seem that way even just from the coronation. (I actually really liked her dress there, but not her hat.)
Rumours about them living essentially separate lives were happening even during the pandemic a few years back, but I think this was kept quiet because there was an expectation that he wasn’t going to seek a third term. But since he does seem to want that, it looks like she doesn’t want to pretend anymore.
But to give them both credit, you would be hard pressed to pick up from their public behaviour that things were that bad. Unlike another couple.
I liked her dress, hat and shoes. Her smile and makeup 👌🏼. Her bag could’ve been different.
There’s a lot of rumours, but Canadian libel laws are STRICT so no one’s going to say anything unless they have proof. Trudeau’s reputation has just consistently declined the longer he is in office and if he plans to run in the next election (slated for 2025, but he has a minority government, so if really one could be called at any time if the majority does a no confident vote) it will be a slog. The Conservative party has a stupid fucking edgelord as its leader and she is probably exhausted and over it all.
The Trudeaus are obviously pseudo-celebrity and the only other Prime Minister to ever separate and divorce while in office were Justin’s parents in the 70s so it’s getting a TON of media attention, so should be interesting to see if more rumours and details comes out.
I’d love to see Sophie pull an Autumn Phillips and go from husband lady to rich bitch.
Canadian political media also tends to not report on the personal lives of politicians unless it’s something that can’t be avoided. There were also rumours about the Harpers living separate lives too, especially toward the end.
The coverage of Margaret Trudeau was pretty sexist back in the day though, so it’s better that they just don’t discuss it now.
That said I don’t trust the right wing wackos who have weaponized his name so much.
Yeah, even Brian Lilley, who I detest, posted on Twitter/X/dead bird yesterday that Sophie and the children are private citizens and everyone’s personal life is personal.
I don’t think Harper’s wife ever moved into the official PM’s residence, due it’s declined state and well, who the f*ck would want to live with Harper?
But his secrets were well and truly kept away from the media – as opposed to the hysteria surrounding Justin right now.
Brian Lilley has helped stoke the right wing bigot discourse so he’s just keeping quiet on this one because he’s also divorced and now living with Doug Ford’s comm person, but let’s not discuss that massive conflict. It’s precious he pretends to be decent when the comments below his post are full of trans hate and other disgusting thoughts.
@NIC919 I don’t live in Ottawa but I did work for Canadian fed govt 25+ years. Had friends who transferred to Ottawa & filled me in on gossip. Rumers were rampant at one time that Stephen Harpers wife left him for her female rcmp bodyguard. Never a whiff in media. That would’ve blown his reputation with RWNJ up. I find the press is much harder on Trudeau, insinuating stuff. Hopefully they’ll leave them be. Also with regard to a former conservative mp who had some success provincially until recently, press was mum on his closeted lifestyle. A lot of media Canada is owned by right wing American companies 🤷♀️
The last 3 years have been a pressure cooker. The amount of violence and threats they’ve had to put up with from right wing loonies, I’m sure has created additional stress in the relationship.
I mean I don’t want to date him for all the reasons his wife is leaving him, but I’d be open to having a drink and seeing where the evening goes.
Now that is the correct energy😂
I follow some job-related ON Twitter accounts, and *that* was the consensus among women and men alike!
Me (sitting at kitchen table) to my sister (out on my screened porch): “Justin Trudeau is getting divorced!”
My sister (without missing a beat): “He’s hot!”
Right? That might be the only thing I ever agree with Ivanka and Melania on, LOL.
@Bettyrose. A line is forming. Angela Merkel is packing her bags and booking her flight (as portrait by Tracy Ullman), even QEII where she is, is thinking, if only I had held on a little longer .
I literally just moved to Ottawa on August 1 and live not terribly far from Rideau Cottage. I honestly would be willing to have a bit of fun as well. LOL
As a Canadian – the concept of “first lady” is not a thing here, at all. I’m sure there’s more attention on Trudeau’s family in a small way, like around Ottawa, or pressure for the kids to not get wild in public, etc. But I’m someone who follows politics and reads the news every day and I can count on one hand the times I’ve ever even seen photos of their kids. Sophie is in the news more than most PM’s spouses but she was already a media figure, and also always seemed to want/like the attention. The PM before Trudeau was in power for 9 years and I doubt most Canadians knew his wife’s name or could pick her out of a lineup. All this is a way of saying that there’s almost no way this will affect his position.
She also didn’t add Trudeau to her last name until he ran for office because in Quebec it’s not a thing to change your name, but Anglo canada remains tradition that way.
I think the most we saw the kids would be for Canada Day and Halloween. They didn’t drag them out all the time because they were also able to act decently to each other in public regardless of what was going on at home.
Who has the tea?
My friend’s brother is an actor, It was an open secret in Quebec’s showbiz scene that he was in a relationship with Magalie Lépine-Blondeau (another actress) for some time. Completely head over heels for her.
In Canada Prime Ministers have a term of 5 years . If the prime minister and his party lose a vote of non confidence by Parliament during that period a new election is called.If the Prime ministers party wins that vote, then he is back in power for another 5 years.Canada also has at times what is called a minority government. Since there are 3 main political partys in Canada, (Liberals, Conservatives and NDP) often the party that wins an election might not have the majority of votes and is forced to compromise and join forces with the third party (least amount of votes )to stay in power. This minority government is actually a good thing. It promotes not having gridlock and restricts absolute power by the party in office. The US would benefit so much by having a third party.
The coalition between NDP & liberals is the best thing to happen in Canada in a long time.
But don’t count out Bloc Québécois. They are a strong party & voice for Quebec.
PPC can rot in hell, & the greens are a joke. May really messed that party around.
I don’t care for any of the leaders. I vote liberal last election because it’s way too close to Cons taking the majority back. But Trudeau is not great. He will win the next election though.
Worrisome that pierre poilievre could win the next election. Nasty vibes from him. Very worrisome.
I agree, YFB gives off BDE. I love some of his stuff and I am not a Quebecer. Poilievre reminds me of an ex who stalked me for 3 years and went to jail for violating restraining order on an ankle monitor.
I live in Ottawa and the rumours about them have been swirling for yeeeears – I’ve met both of them, and Sophie will always have a soft spot for me, she is fabulous, and sparkly in person.
Kate Middleton will flirt with JT even more now. When’s the next visit to Canada?
Canadians have no interest in a visit from those two airheads but with the separation talk being public at least it’s going to keep those two away because there will be inevitable comparisons with their awful body language, something that Justin and Sophie were able to do much better when going through marital issues.
I predict a catfight between Keen and Ivanka Trump for his attentions. Those two looked like they were wetting their pants when they met him.
Sad to hear the Trudeau marriage is ending. Trust and believe they will be on the hunt for sidepieces for both of them. Somebody is going to talk.
Unlikely. The media here doesn’t pry into the personal lives of politicians or their families unless it’s really egregious and actually affects the government.
Not a chance. Nobody is going to talk, it’s not the Canadian way to spill personal dirt and pry into private lives that way.
I think Poilievre has minions who will do the dirty work for him. Not MPs or anyone direct, but there is a lot of slime in that party under him. He’s copying the Desantis approach in so many other ways
@Nic919 — yeah, I don’t trust him at all. He’s a dirty fighter but he has a habit of stepping on rakes then back-tracking.
@jaded and @Nic919, oh, Punchable is slime but it would be open season on him as well. Plus, there’s still the sense, shrinking as it is, that going after Sophie, the kids and JT’s private life is out of bounds. That could hurt Punchable’s chances of forming a government.
Obviously I didn’t think anything at the time, but I would easily believe they were separated when she did the Archetypes interview, it sounded like being married to the PM was stifling (as it would be!)
No term limits in Australian politics either (both Aus and Canada are based on the UK system so I assume it’s the same there).
It was the same until Harper, the conservative premier, tried to introduce a fixed election term law. Prior to that is was that an election had to be called within five years of the last one, outside of no confidence votes. Now I think there is a specific date when it needs to be called. We have a minority govt with the NDP (left leaning) and so technically it could fall at any moment. But it’s been stable for now.
Ok what rock have I been living under that I didn’t hear of affairs and living separately??? I agree with other posters that no one will care. We don’t have the focus on politicians private lives like in the US. Sophie got more attention because she had a media career before JT ran and because they we’re definitely an attractive couple. Darn I’m sad for them. I do think the rise of the extreme right wing here (very MAGA energy unfortunately) played a role. People have been getting very nasty and violent. It’s a shift I can’t believe from a few years ago. If they have been living separate lives I could see her being done with it all and wanting out especially if we are going to be entering an election cycle at some point soon. The right wing have been trying to remove him from office for years and every time he wins they get more angry. I personally think he’s been an overall pretty good PM (I vote either a liberal or NDP depending on the situation) but I wish his party had done more to succession plan. A lot of people are very weary right now and I think they will vote for a change even though that change is frankly very scary if you are looking at it.
Same. I voted liberal last election for obvious reasons, but I’m NDP.
I still mourn the loss of Jack Layton.
He was on the cusp of greatness, what could Canada have been under his leadership.
Jack Layton died the day before I got married and I bawled, it felt like I lost a friend. Him being elected as the official opposition felt like the dawn of a new era in Canadian politics 🙁
Jack would have been an awesome PM. I’m not a huge JT fan, but I’ll take him any day over that loathsome whiny-ass DeSantis wannabe heading the Conservative party. I live in a rural part of Texas North, and the level of unhinged hatred for Trudeau is frankly terrifying; whatever caused the marital breakup,I don’t blame Sophie for noping out of there.
Yes I still miss Jack Layton. He was such a passionate activist. I do think he could have won and been a great PM. I can’t see anyone else from the NDP winning nationally. I live in Toronto and voted Olivia for mayor and been thinking a lot about Jack and that whole era.
You can tell the white supremacy movement has targeted Trudeau when people in rural Texas even know the name of the Canadian PM much less hate him.
It’s actually scary. There are even F Trudeau flags out there and some put out on homes.
We never had crap like that before.
@Nic919 — it is scary, and has been building for a long time. I remember taking a road trip with a good friend back in the summer of 2003. We’d decided we wanted to see Mt. Rushmore. Well we didn’t take into consideration the whole “Freedom Fries” movement wherein France opposed the invasion of Iraq, and because Quebec is a French-speaking province, the radical right conservatives immediately hated ALL Canadians. Our license plates, of course, gave us away and we had boneheads honking, tail-gating, giving us the middle finger and yelling at us. No wonder I won’t go to the US these days.
I assume the prince who recently announced he would be doing events solo is watching closely to see if JT remains popular. He will probably cut and paste the whole announcement.
The prince should have also taken tips on how to not act repulsed when with his spouse because Sophie and Justin were not giving off the nasty looks, nor did they drag their kids as buffers everywhere.
I know his divorce is the topic of conversation but …
A Prime Minister is really just the ‘prime’ minister among many ministers. A first among equals etc. Yes, he/she can theoretically stay as long as their party keeps winning elections. Or they can resign (Jacinda Ardern) or be removed by their party when confidence is lost (Boris Johnson). Or die (umm Harold Holt), in which case the party just picks a new PM. Sometimes people stay in for decades but that’s unusual in strong democracies. Other times it’s a ridiculous revolving door with PMs coming and going every couple of years. The party as a whole is really what voters elect when they vote. You can be personally popular and lose because voters hate your party, and vice versa.
Anyway … I assume they have been separated for some time but relations were cordial. And now one of them has a new relationship that’s a bit serious so they need to announce the separation officially before trotting out the new partner … or someone in the media was about to do it for them?
The media wouldn’t break any news of a personal nature here, Canadian media isn’t like the UK or US, they don’t typically pry into the private lives of politicians unless it’s about something that breaks the law or negatively affects government law (like the egregious Rob Ford).
Yes this. Australia had two prime ministers kicked from the top job just before an election as a hail Mary for the party to win. Canadians aren’t voting for him, per se. They vote for their local mp. That often gets lost in conversations about leaders.
And Harold Holt! To see that name on cb (body never found rip hh)
One of the saddest what-ifs in Canadian politics is the death of Jack Layton in 2011. His death opened the door for JT in 2015 and now 8 years later here we are.
I’ve never warmed to JT, but I’m an “anybody but the Conservatives” voter, so he’s always had my vote to keep Conservatives out of power. I keep hoping Jagmeet Singh can least get the NDPs back to where Jack Layton left off. But that seems unlikely.
Anyway, when people talk about the hotness of JT, I’m baffled. But, his brother, Sacha, was sizzling back in the day.
I would agree if I hadn’t seen Justin in person back when he was a backbencher; the pretty projected all the way to the back row of the visitors’ gallery, to the point my jaw literally dropped.
The current Liberal backbencher who puts them all to shame in hotness is the Olympian and MPP from Milton, Adam van Koeverden!
The reason the NDP will never get elected is because of Liberals (justified but gross) fear-mongering campaign that by voting NDP, voters risk splitting the vote and allowing the Conservatives to come in to power. So it is a gamble. Do we vote for the party we want or do we vote strategically to make sure we don’t get the party we don’t want? There needs to be electoral reform.
Conservatives in Canada are already saying “he can’t lead his family, he can’t lead the country.”
Thing is, the only thing that party stands for right now is anti-Trudeau. Literally nothing else. The pressure and hate he receives daily is scary.
I can see him hoping to not run again, but there is no Liberal predecessor who could win an election right now. Trudeau staying in office will hopefully prevent the always angry for clicks PP from getting in.
I think Chrystia Freeland could do it.
I agree. Chrystia is amazing – how many portfolios is she in charge of right now- Justin’s right hand woman!
I am hoping Chrystia Freeland can win over the public. Aside from Trudeau, she’s the next most visible and recognizable from the Liberals. Plus she’s practically running the country as Deputy PM anyway, but of course that’s a different skillset than winning election votes. It would be nice to finally have a female PM besides Kim Campbell (did that really count?). Female politicians in this country seem to get a lot of crap and hate (look at Rachel Notley and Kathleen Wynne at the provincial level and now Olivia Chow in Toronto).
I would love if we had a female PM and agrees Chrystia Freeland is more than qualified.
Conservatives know she’s next in line and have been attacking her too. The right wing is so sexist and the attacks will be worse then what we see against JT. We saw it happen to Hillary Clinton in the US, where even the most qualified woman is portrayed as unqualified.
@Nic919 — Just coming here to say the same thing, Chrystia Freeland is a rock star. Pierre Poilievre is far too right-wing to make much of a dent in the Lib/NDP stronghold, and his courting of the far-right will have consequences. He’s trying to appeal to the more mainstream conservatives but is still actively courting the ultra right-wing. Not a good look.
Anita Anand is impressive too.
She seems very cool – she was just over in the UK and did an interview with the BBC presenter who is also called Anita Anand. Apparently they get mistaken for each other all the time and photos of each other are used for speaking events, conferences etc. Sigh. We all have so much work to do.
You know William is watching this with eagle eyes, seeing how Trudeau’s publuc reacts to him separating from the mother of his children, who has helped him build his career/image. Because boy if that doesn’t strike close to home! 😳
I bet Wills is just hoping everyone treats this like no biggie, so he can copy his PR moves and skedaddle Waity.
Ivanka will be on a plane to Canada STAT
LOL – and Princess Keen too!
I’m just waiting to see how the royal reporters try to blame the breakdown of the marriage on Harry and Meghan.
I had this same thought. My guess is the headline would read, “Meghan’s friend, Sophie, and her husband, the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin, have separated. Did Meghan’ Archetypes Podcast cause the Split?”
Gossip ’round the Canadian water cooler is that Sophie got a little too close to DJ Big Dris during a humanitarian trip they were on together 👀
That would seem to assume Idris Elba is also in an open relationship with his wife. It’s not impossible (I don’t know anything about their relationship), but this sort of speculation starts to become quite unfair.
Sad to hear about the Trudeau separation. They seemed like a great couple together with a lovely family.
Technically, Charles is the head of state in Canada, as he is in Australia, New Zealand and some Caribbean states. The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party who wins the most votes in an election. The leaders of the parties are chosen by the members of the party, just like the Presidential candidates are chosen by their parties. The leader of the party that gets the second most votes becomes the Leader of the Opposition. Sometimes, no party gets a majority. In that case, a coalition government can be formed with two parties, but the prime minister is still the leader of the party with the most votes. Right now, Trudeau is the prime minister of a coalition government- the Liberals and the NDP. There is really no focus on the family of the Prime Minister, and his or her spouse has no official role and does not have a staff. Sophie caused a bit of a scandal because she once asked for an aide to help her deal with all the requests for her involvement or to speak with various organizations.
not technically a coalition. The NDP don’t have any members of cabinet. The NDP are still technically an opposition party. They just have an agreement for now that the NDP can walk away from.
They were a beautiful couple and she has great style. I love her pink dress and shoes. The hat would have looked better with material closer to the material of her sleeves, but she looked beautiful.
I’m sad to hear this news but I think that couples know more about what is best for them and their family than the general public. They seem to be putting their children’s happiness and wellbeing front and center, so I believe this was a decision that was made with great thought and care for their family unit. I hope all will be okay and find their ultimate happiness.
Angelina and JT??!!
I live in Alberta (home of many, many conservative nut jobs). I was out at a friend’s farm last weekend and we took the scenic country road route – Rural Alberta is not ok. The amount of F*ck Trudeau signs and signs about killing Liberals is absolutely embarrassing and I don’t want to tell people I’m from here.
It took about an hour before I saw the first rude tweets/posts about his sexuality from the Conservative nut jobs. And then some of the posts got worse. I don’t blame them for divorcing; their marriage, their business. I can’t see it hurting his votes out here, since hating him is just a past time for some people. (We too are anyone but conservative voters, and most Albertan conservatives vote for the blue thing, whether it’s a person or a baseball hat)
I’m a fellow Albertan, I feel your pain. My area keeps electing Rachael Thomas so yeah.
Meh, there have been low-key rumours about his sexual orientation since his university days. The right wing nut jobs are just regurgitating what’s long been out there and which is, frankly, no one’s business but his own.
From the same people who never questioned why John Baird was escorting Lauren Harper all the time.
I don’t see this impacting his popularity unless it gets messy which i also don’t see happening. I don’t think anyone here really cares other than people who already hate him. They’ll try to make it a huge thing but nobody else will care. He was already unlikely to be elected again, unfortunately (I don’t love Trudeau but the alternative is horrifying)
There have been separation and affair rumors for years so this isn’t a huge surprise
The separation won’t impact Trudeau’s electability. Canadians seem to agree that the politicians may be fair game because they chose life in the public spotlight, but the children, spouses, and any side-partners are not. Even when former Toronto mayor John Tory stepped down earlier this year due to his bombshell revelation of his lengthy affair with a then-staffer, people were questioning why he needed to do so because they didn’t care about his private life (it was his family that issued the ultimatum rather than public or political pressure). Media actually respected the other woman’s privacy and didn’t print her name or any other details about her for public consumption (perhaps due to threat of potential legal action if they did so?).
What I’m more concerned about is whether Trudeau has enough left in the tank to win a third election and support from good and skilled people to keep the country on track. Traditionally, Canadians tend to get tired of the party and leader in power by the 3rd term. And Trudeau has definitely been the target of a coordinated hate attack by unhinged right-wingers in the past 3-6 years where they spread all sorts of misinformation and disinformation to confuse the public. I can only imagine the threats he, Sophie and their kids must have received over the years. Any marriage would be challenged under those circumstances.
Early on in his career, we saw slightly more of the kids (they posted for their birthdays, some vacation photos, International Women’s Day, etc), but that seems to have dialed down lately, maybe due to hateful comments and the kids having more say in whether their images should be out there. The good news is no one has ever doubted Trudeau and Sophie’s prioritizing their children’s well-being, which they seem to be continuing to do in this separation.
Agree with the other comments about Jack Layton’s premature death and what he symbolized and could have been for Canada. I am hoping Olivia Chow can carry on his legacy in her new role as Toronto Mayor, despite all of the obstacles she faces.
This issue with John Tory was not that he had a long time affair, it was because it was with a staffer which questions whether the staffer was truly consenting or did she feel pressure because he was her boss. People don’t really care about an affair here (unless it is something completely hypocritical like a bigoted religious leader). John Tory was Doug Ford’s puppet so I am glad he is gone.
Canadian here. I’m not a JT fan and am concerned with the multiple ethical issues raised throughout his term as PM. Would love to see someone else step in as leader. That being said, given the current Conservative leadership and ideology, I’d vote for Justin in a heartbeat.
Wishing him and Sophie peace as they navigate their relationship.
It’s the old conundrum of choosing the lesser of 2 evils in this case. As much as I’m not a big JT fan either, I refuse to vote conservative. I’d love to see Chrystia Freeland as PM.
Same! (re: JT, not voting conservative and Freeland.)
The federal libs are their own worst enemy: they always get booted because of bad ethics, corruption and fraud and then we’re stuck with conservatives until people remember that they have just as bad ethics on top of crap values. Seriously, Poilièvre is about as punchable as Ted Cruz and likely even meaner than Cruz, I absolutely don’t want to see him in power!!!!
It’d be great if the Libs learned from past mistakes but they are too smug for this; anyone with 3 brain cells in the party would have had a long talk with JT already and get him to step down and let CF take leadership. It’s frustrating that the NDP can’t get their act together and show themselves as a true governing option although, sadly, racism is greatly at play there
Her comment to Meghan, on her podcast, about women “longing to be free in who we are” tells me that she felt very stifled in her marriage.
Honestly, this won’t really affect his political career. I am sure Pierre Poli-whatever his stupid dumb face will try to make it something though.
As an aside …
In general, Canadians do not treat politicians like celebrities. We don’t really care much about their personal lives and if Sophie hadn’t previously been an entertainment personality and purposely been in front of cameras, we may not even have known much of her.
As for the kids, again, they’re photographed at Christmas and maybe Canada Day. Only know their names today due to the separation announcement. We leave politicians and their families alone and allow them to have private lives.
I am sorry to hear of the end for them, it is always sad, especially after so long.
As a western Canadian, I have no use for him and a lot of his policies are not good for the area that I live in. I am not happy with a lot of the moves that he has made in many areas, whether we are talking about cabinet shifts, national or international policies. I deal with the bureaucratic end of the Canadian political system and it has become a nightmare over the last 4 or 5 years. The area I am in has been a Conservative stronghold for a long time, but thankfully we have a great Member of Parliament who actually listens to his constitutes. I don’t remember the last time we had a decent Liberal candidate worth voting for in this riding, sadly.
Anyway, politics aside, I hope that their family heals from this and that they can move on happily.
I’m also from Western Canada, I used to vote Conservative until I realized the Party is full of homophobes and racists. Then one of the last leaders was caught stealing money to from the party to buy a minivan and pay for his kids private religious school tuition. The CPC is a dumpster fire. I now vote ABC.
JT is a jerk. She’s better off without him. I will never forgive him for the spectacle he made of himself in India. Even his kids looked embarrassed. And he hung out with a known terrorist while he was there. Then there is his close relationship with the WEF. And the Chinese cash for access scandal. The breach of ethics all expenses paid trips. SNC Lavalin and the firing of Jody Wilson Raybould, the Justice Minister because she wouldn’t break the law for him. Oh, yeah and elbow-gate where he shoved a woman out of the way on the floor of the House of Commons. He’s a piece of shit but go ahead and support him anyway. Sockman has pretty hair.
None of this is wrong…….
And yet Poilievre is no better. He’s already pushing out all his potential competitors with paid off whistleblowers and there is the whole issue of being linked with the dominion religious nuts and the anti vaxx groups who are basically white supremacists. We can play this game all day. O Toole was a decent guy but conservatives replaced him with a partisan toad who already has a gold plated government pension because he’s done nothing in his life but be an MP. And he’s also worth millions because we don’t discuss how he’s a landlord on top of the govt money. Nor do we examine how he is just as elite as Trudeau. But suckers go for the Trudeau hate and ignore actual facts.
By the way if the national energy program wasn’t set up the oil industry would have died in the 1970s. But way too many people out west fall for the propaganda. Read up on the oil crisis of 1973. The west needed the feds for the help but it was a great way for provincial premiers to try to look macho by bitching about it. That’s ok, the feds are going to end up having to save the provinces overly reliant on fossil fuel because they haven’t set up the fund like Sweden but enjoy not paying sales tax.
Nic919, I’m old enough to remember the hatred towards PET and his energy policies in the 70’s. The oil provinces rejected, amongst other things, a pipeline to the east. Let us find our own markets, we cried; we can do it better. Fast forward to today and we are begging for pipelines to the east and/or west.
Ask Glen Assoun what a wonderful minister Jody Wilson Raybould was. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/wrongly-convicted-glen-assoun-case-delay-jody-wilson-raybould-1.5074732.
All that being said I’m not a JT fan but let’s be honest, the alternatives in the other parties are much, much worse.
@nic919 – ALL of what you said!
Raybould had a history of bullying others in the workplace and having been bullied by other women in the workplace, that kind of toxic environment can be quite brutal. Trudeau should have never picked her in the first place given her history.
Kate and William, it’s okay to divorce now
I was saddened to hear this news, but not surprised. They didn’t gush about one another on valentine’s day nor their anniversary this year. I am not sure about all these rumors. I had a best guy friend whose wife cheated on him and he definitely would not have ever vacationed with her afterwards, even for their 4 kids sake. Maybe Sophie just was tired of this life and headed towards 50 would like a different route her life takes her. End of. That is my personal theory.