Canadian politician and 23rd Prime Minister of Canada is Justin James Pierre Trudeau PC MP.
He is of Scottish and French-Canadian descent and hails from a family of politicians and businessmen. He is the first Prime Minister whose parent was a previous Prime Minister.
Growing up in a broken family, Justin spent his time in Ottawa, then British Columbia, before settling with his siblings and father in Montreal. But, he remained close to his mother and her new family. He caught the public’s attention after he delivered his eulogy for his father during his state funeral back in 2000. He eventually entered politics and continued his active support for the Liberal Party following his father’s footsteps.
He is known to be the second youngest prime minister and the second child of a prime minister that was born while the PM was seated in office. He also is a lover of sports and outdoor adventures due to his constant trips with his father. He described those trips to be the only time his father was a simple father in the woods with his children and not a father of the country.
Background of Justin Trudeau
When he was five years old, his parents publicly declared their separation which left him and his sibling under the custody of his father. They stayed in the official residence of the Prime Minister before he lost his position. They were supposed to move to the Stornoway Residence but due to flooding problems, he and his brothers only stayed on the top floor of the house. Both parents of Justin agreed to send him to a public school for his education and for him to take the school bus with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police that followed suit.
He attended Rockcliffe Park Public School before transferring to Lycée Claudel d’Ottawa where he spent a year studying. He then studied at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf following his father’s retirement. He earned his degree in Literature at McGill University and his education degree at the University of British Columbia. He also studied engineering at the École Polytechnique de Montréal but didn’t continue. Instead, he finished his Master’s Degree in Environmental Geography at McGill University.
He appeared in the two-part mini TV series “The Great War” and also worked as a camp counselor at Algonquin Provincial Park before pursuing his political career. He is also an honorary member of the Haida tribe where he got his inspiration for his large Earth inside a Haida raven tattoo.
Family of Justin Trudeau
Father
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau born on October 18, 1919, was father to Justin and his siblings and the 15th Prime Minister of Canada. He was active in his advocacy together with the Liberal Party. He is known to be the third-longest serving Primes Minister in the country.
He once dated Barbra Streisand before their breakup. He then secretly married Margaret Sinclair and had three kids. After his separation with his wife, he dedicated his time to his kids and country. His religious beliefs remained private but he outspokenly declared his faith of being a Christian. He died on September 28, 2000, and was laid to rest in his hometown of Quebec.
Mother
Margaret Joan Sinclair is the actress, photographer, writer mother of Justin. She was born on September 10, 1948, to a former Parliament of Canada and Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, James Sinclair and his wife, Doris Kathleen Sinclair.
She comes from a family of immigrants that settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. On March 4, 1971, she married then Minister of Justice, Pierre Trudeau but they officially divorced after Pierre filed a no-fault divorce case against her. During the rocky stage of their marriage, she had an affair with US Senator Ted Kennedy. Sixteen days after her divorce with P. Trudeau was finalized, she remarried Fried Kemper on April 18, 1984.
Siblings
Justin has five siblings in total. He has two half-siblings from his mother and one half-sibling from his father. His younger brothers are Alexandre Emmanuel, also called Sacha, and Michel Charles-Émile, nicknamed Michel. However, on November 13, 1998, Michel died after an avalanche accident in Kokanee Lake in British Columbia. He was only 23 at that time.
Despite the search and recovery operations that were done, Michel’s body was never found and is said to have washed to the lake and never reached the shore. The natural conditions of the area gave the search team a hard time that resulted to the family calling off the entire operation. A memorial chalet was built nearby in his honor.
The half-siblings of Justin are Sarah Coyne, daughter to Deborah Coyne and Pierre Trudeau, Kyle Kemper and Alicia Kemper, children of Margaret Sinclair and Fried Kemper.
Wife
Born April 24, 1975, Sophie Grégoire was a former television host that grew up in Montreal, Quebec. Aside from her hosting career, she is also known for all of her charity work.
Her relationship with Justin started when they were younger as she was his brother’s friend. Although, they only started dating after meeting again in a charity ball in June 2003. They married on May 28, 2005, almost more than a half a year after they got engaged in October 2004. She initially stayed in Montreal when he first started in Parliament but later on moved to a rental in Ottawa. They now live in the Rideau Cottage.
Children
Justin and his wife have three children: two sons and one daughter. His eldest is Xavier James born on October 18, 2007, followed by Ella-Grace Margaret born on February 5, 2009, and his youngest is Hadrien Grégoire born on February 28, 2014.
Assets and Net Worth
In 2013, Justin admitted he has gained a $1.2 million inheritance. On top of that has established a public-speaking business that earns $450,000 at most annually.