Justin Trudeau/Quotes

Overview

Popular Culture

Quotes

Justin Trudeau, 23rd Prime Minister of Canada, son of Pierre Elliott Trudeau

Justin Trudeau (b. 25 December 1971) is a Canadian politician and the current Prime Minister of Canada. He was first elected to that office in 2015. He is the 23rd to hold the office. He is the son of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who served as the 15th Prime Minister of Canada.

Dated Quotes

2010s

2013

• "There's a level of admiration I actually have for China because their basic dictatorship is allowing them to actually turn their economy around on a dime and say 'we need to go greenest, fastest — we need to invest in solar.' I mean, there is a flexibility that I know Stephen Harper must dream about of having a dictatorship that he can do everything he wanted, and I find that quite interesting."
  • Stated at a women's event, 7 November 2013

2020s

2020

• "So. I don't want to be here this morning. You don't want me to be here this morning. But here we are again. The cases across the country are spiking massively. We are facing a winter that's going to drive people inside, more and more, and we're really at risk of seeing caseloads go up, and hospitals get overwhelmed, and more loved ones dying. So we need to do everything we can - right now - to slow the spread of COVID-19. To stop this spike in its tracks. If you were planning to see friends this weekend, maybe don't. If there was a birthday party or a gathering for dinner you were thinking about doing, don't do it. We're in a moment right now, where even with all the sacrifices I know Canadians have been making over these past 10 months, we are now going to have to really tighten up, once again. This is frustrating, 'cos I know we've all heard stories of people who've thrown up their hands and are not doing their part anymore. People who stopped wearing masks or people who are going out more than they should. And it's tempting for all of us to say, 'Ok, well, maybe I can loosen up a bit more too.' But the reality is we need to go in the opposite direction. If there are people out there not following the rules when we know we need to, well then those of us who need to are gonna have to do even more. Because this is the future of our country. It's the future of our children. It's the future of our loved ones, and our seniors. It's our economy, it's our businesses. It's everything altogether. We're gonna need to have to do this. For another few weeks. For another few months. And we can begin to see the other side of this. We can do this. We've done it before. We know what to do, we understand this virus much better than before. We need to reduce our contacts. We need to do it right now."
  • Address from Rideau Cottage, 20 November 2020

2021

• "In the US today, we saw accountability for the murder of George Floyd. But make no mistake, systemic racism and anti-Black racism still exist. And they exist in Canada, too. Our work must and will continue."
  • Twitter, 20 April 2021, in the wake of the conviction of Derek Chauvin
• "It is perfectly legitimate for a province to modify the section of the Constitution that applies specifically to them and that is something they can do while ensuring, of course, that the rest of the Constitution, including the sections that protect linguistic minorities, like anglophones in Quebec, continue to be respected."
  • Ottawa press conference, 18 May 2021
• "Earlier tonight, the aircraft carrying Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor left Chinese airspace. After an unbelievably difficult ordeal, they are on their way home. I want to thank every single person and partner around the world who helped secure their release."
  • Twitter, 24 September 2021

2022

• "The people of Ottawa don't deserve to be harassed in their own neighbourhoods."
  • House of Commons emergency session, 7 February 2022

2025

• "You can't take our country — and you can't take our game."
  • Twitter, 21 February 2025

Quotes about Trudeau

1970s

• "Tonight, we’ll dispense with formalities. I’d like to toast the future prime minister of Canada—to Justin Pierre Trudeau."
  • Richard Nixon, April 1972, state dinner at the White House

2010s

• "I don't follow it that closely, but you know, I don't think- No, I don't think he's funny. Not like his father was funny. You know, I don't think, uh, from just my cursory knowledge and watching of Justin - the Prime Minister, I shouldn't call him Justin- of the Prime Minister on YouTube, that he seems not to have inherited his father's flinty intellect."
  • Norm Macdonald, on being asked whether he thought Trudeau was funny, 18 March 2018
• "Justin Trudeau was one of those leaders who inspired me to join politics."
  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 2 July 2019, Twitter
• "Come on, he even covered his hands. Who does that? So many times! You know, if you do a mistake once, fine. A couple times, fine. But enough times, and it’s just become real... Oh god. Oh, no. I take back everything I just said, okay! You can make as many mistakes as possible! It doesn’t mean anything. I swear it means nothing! Coincidence! It's society! It’s society, I tell you! At least you won’t catch me in blackface."
  • Felix Kjellberg, circa 2 October 2019
• "Well, he's two-faced. And honestly, with Trudeau, he's a nice guy, I find him to be a very nice guy, but, you know, the truth is that, I called him out on the fact that he's not paying two percent, and I guess he's not very happy about it. I mean, you were there, a couple of you were there, and he's not paying two percent, and he should be paying two percent. It's Canada, they have money, and they should be paying two percent. So I called him out on that, and I'm sure he wasn't happy about it, but that's the way it is. Look, I'm representing the U.S., and he should be paying more than he's paying, and he understands that. I can imagine he's not that happy but that's the way it is."
  • U.S. President Donald Trump, 4 December 2019

2020s

• "Justin Trudeau effectively indicated this week that the province of Quebec can write anything into the Constitution, and he will not lift a finger. The prime minister apparently has been advised that this is perfectly legal. Legal, perhaps. But politically, this change is fraught with turbulence and division. You don’t build a country by means of unilateral subterfuge, but with common understanding. The prime minister must know this, of course. But he has chosen not to challenge Quebec ahead of an election. Such behaviour is disheartening."
  • André Pratte, columnist for The Montreal Gazette, 19 May 2021
• "One can only imagine the reaction of the current prime minister’s father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who referred to Quebec nationalists as “a sleazy bunch of master blackmailers” in 1950 and never recanted on that sentiment. The Charter of Rights he pioneered was designed to recognize the inalienable rights of all Canadian equally and he rejected efforts, such as the designation of Quebec as a “distinct society,” that risked those rights being overridden or modified. Trudeau fils said his government shares Quebec’s views on nationhood and the French language, so as long as minority language rights are protected, everything is tickety boo."
  • John Ivison, The National Post, 19 May 2021
• "He is bad for Canada. He was an abject failure."
  • Leader of the New Democratic Party Jagmeet Singh, speaking about Trudeau's track record as prime minister, during the 2021 Canadian federal election, 17 September 2021
• "Trudeau and his team aspire to be reformists on a grand scale … their lack of experience for succeeding in that goal is more and more apparent."
  • Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, excerpt from My Stories, My Times, Vol. 2