A look back at Justin Trudeau’s political career in a few key dates

Justin Trudeau announced on January 6 that he would step down as Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, after nine years at the head of the country and nearly 13 years as leader of his party. A look back at his political career in a few key dates.

Justin Trudeau entered the House of Commons in 2008 as a member of Parliament for the riding of Papineau, in Montreal. He then caused a surprise by defeating Bloc member Vivian Barbot by less than 3% of the vote.

He was re-elected in 2011, during a general election in which the Liberal Party suffered the worst defeat in its history against Stephen Harper’s Conservatives and lost official opposition status to the New Democratic Party (NDP).

Barely two years later, Justin Trudeau became leader of the Liberal Party, promising to bring back unity and rally young people around his candidacy.

I don’t care if you’re a Christian liberal, a Turner liberal, a Martin liberal, or any other kind of liberal. The era of clans within the Liberals ends now, tonighthe declared.

In August 2015, Stephen Harper launched the longest campaign in Canadian history, lasting 78 days. With the renewed vitality infused into his party, Justin Trudeau presented himself with an ambitious promise: that of adding $60 billion in investments over 10 years for infrastructure, at the cost of three years of deficits.

The Liberal leader succeeded in his bet: on October 19, 2015, he became, at the age of 43, the 23^e Prime Minister of Canada, following in the footsteps of his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who had spent more than 15 years in power.

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In October 2018, his majority government fulfilled one of its flagship promises by legalizing the consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes. Canada then became the first G7 country to do so. His promise to reform the voting system, however, was abandoned (New window).

In announcing his resignation on Monday, Justin Trudeau admitted that this abandonment is one of his greatest regrets. I still think that if our electoral system had been changed to have a first, second, third choice, the parties would have spent more time looking at the things they had in common rather than seeing polarization, but I could not unilaterally change our voting method in this countryhe said.

His first term was also marked by the arrival of 40,000 migrants fleeing the crisis in Syria and by the first election of Donald Trump, with whom he had a tumultuous relationship.

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He was reappointed at the head of a minority government in 2019, after being notably splashed by the reappearance of a photo of him in disguise, his face painted black, dating from 2001.

This second term was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trudeau government then deployed significant financial assistance measures, including the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).

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Wishing to let voters decide on the path to follow to emerge from the crisis, Justin Trudeau called elections in 2021 at the end of summer – and in the middle of 4^e wave of the pandemic. Elections which ended in the status quo and his re-election at the head of a minority government.

In March 2022, Mr. Trudeau concluded with the head of NPDJagmeet Singh, a support agreement to allow the Liberals to remain in power until 2025. In September 2024, Mr. Singh decided to distance himself from the Liberal government by ending this agreement.

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2024 was ultimately the year of loss of momentum for his government. Justin Trudeau lost Liberal strongholds during by-elections over the summer. His minority government was hanging by a thread: his agreement with the NPDwhich leader Jagmeet Singh ripped apart in September.

First anonymous, then increasingly assertive, the liberal voices calling for the resignation of Justin Trudeau were ever louder during the last parliamentary session. Despite everything, he held on.

But it was the crisis triggered by the resounding resignation of his deputy prime minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, which gave Mr. Trudeau the final blow.

The Liberal leader stayed away from the cameras and took advantage of the holiday season to meditate on his political future. He finally decided to lay down his arms, once a successor has been found for him.

Before officially entering politics, Justin Trudeau worked as a teacher at a private school in Vancouver. He was involved in particular as president of the working group on youth of the Commission for the Renewal of PLC.

From 2002 to 2006, Justin Trudeau also chaired the board of directors of the Katimavik youth volunteer program. Taking advantage of his public image and his name, Mr. Trudeau invested in promoting several causes, notably concerning youth and the environment.