Justin Trudeau: A Premiership Filled With Corruption & Inadequacy

Kevin Liu
9 min readNov 9, 2020
Source: Reuters

The past five years of Canadian politics have ultimately revealed the ineptitude and fatuity of Justin Trudeau, the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada. During his term, Trudeau has accumulated multiple records, including being the first and only Prime Minister to ever be found guilty of federal ethics law, being involved in four separate party and personal scandals, and receiving the lowest percentage of the national party vote of any governing party in Canadian history.

In addition, once an honorable and trustful party, the Liberal Party of Canada has now devolved into a bevy of corrupt and shameless simpletons under the leadership of Trudeau. The current Prime Minister and his crooked cabinet pose a threat against Canadian democracy, and all actions must be taken to ensure that they do not retain the reins of society in the next federal election.

Throughout his premiership, not only has Trudeau embarrassed himself in the House of Commons when he is unable to answer simple questions, but he has also embarrassed the entirety of Canada on the global stage. Canadians have never seen a politician as negligent, unethical, illogical, and shameful as Justin, and we are able to see these traits reflected through the many scandals he has taken part in as well as his actions in the House.

The Corrupt Cabinet

The level of democratic undermining and corruption currently present in the current Liberal cabinet is unprecedented in Canadian history. With Trudeau at the helm, the current government has been able to get away with multiple incidences of corruption while the media, namely the CBC, covers them up. This is a blatant attack on the values of our country and has no place in our government or society. One of the most noticeable political incidences that have happened in the past five years was the SNC-Lavalin affair.

The SNC-Lavalin affair was a major scandal that took place in 2018, when Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion launched an investigation and concluded that the Prime Minister’s Office had interfered with the Justice Department’s corruption and fraud investigation into the Quebec construction firm, SNC-Lavalin. It was alleged that Trudeau had pressured the former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to consider a deferred prosecution agreement, which would spare the construction giant of any criminal charges.

Wilson-Raybould appeared before the justice committee on Feb. 27 and claimed that she “experienced a consistent sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in [her] role as the attorney general.” In the testimony, she revealed the Prime Minister’s intention behind the corruption. He had told her that many jobs would have disappeared if the company was to be charged and that the company would move from Montreal, affecting his role as MP in Quebec.

Jody Wilson-Raybould testifying before the Commons justice committee meeting. (Source: The Canadian Press)

Not only is Trudeau blatantly guilty of corruption, but he also attempts to silence those who speak out against him. Wilson-Raybould was shortly ejected from the caucus after this incident, as well as Jane Philpott, the former President of the Treasury Board. It’s truly sickening that any Prime Minister would attempt to interfere with legal proceedings, as well as punish those who rightly challenge him. As former Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer remarked, “The Liberals continue to believe that there is one set of rules for Liberals and their friends and another set of rules for everybody else.” Trudeau seems to believe that he is above the law and that he would not be held accountable for his actions. Fortunately, this was not the case, and the Ethics Commissioner swiftly delivered justice.

Despite this despicable and disgusting act, the Liberals were still able to hold onto a minority government in the 2019 federal election. Canadians, for whatever reason, still believed it was acceptable for a criminal to retain his seat and position in government. Some may argue that it was a one-time event and that we would be able to move on. However, Trudeau showed just how demoralized he is once again in 2020 when he was caught in a conflict of interest case with the WE Charity.

On June 25, 2020, Trudeau’s government announced that the WE Charity would administer a $912 million student service grant as part of the $9 billion COVID financial aid for post-secondary students. It was aimed at giving paid volunteering opportunities to those who could not find jobs in the summer. $43.53 million would be paid to WE Charity for their administration of the CSSG. However, shortly after the federal government awarded the WE Charity with the sole-source contract, Trudeau’s close ties to the organization became a concern. Both Trudeau, his mother, and his brother have spoken at multiple events through which they were paid approximately $282,000 by the charity in total.

WE Charity co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger (far left and far right) introducing Justin Trudeau and his wife at an event in Ottawa in 2015. (Source: The Canadian Press)

At the time of the contract decision, both Trudeau and the finance minister, Bill Morneau who had also had ties to the organization, failed to recuse themselves from the discussion, potentially breaking the Conflicts of Interest Act. Subsection 6(1) of the act prohibits public office holders from making decisions that further their own private interests or the interests of another person.

Furthermore, Trudeau is also being investigated by the ethics commissioner under other sections of the act dealing with failing to recuse oneself from any matter that would present a conflict of interest. During the incident, Morneau resigned as finance minister after coming under fire for taking free trips in 2017 paid by the charity. Since the controversy, the contract has been cancelled and the CSSG has been abandoned.

Even though Canadians gave Trudeau a second chance, it is still evident that he is the same person in 2018, and that he will continue to take advantage of his power in order to advance not the interests of the public, but the interests of himself, his own family, and his close friends.

Yes or No, Mr. Prime Minister

Are you able to say the words, “yes” or “no?” Go ahead, say them out loud. If you did, congratulations, even you would make a better leader than Mr. Trudeau.

Although Trudeau may seem cunning with the acts of corruption he has attempted, he is also unable to answer the simplest of questions. In multiple House of Common question periods, the Prime Minister is shown completely unable to answer the opposition’s questions, even though they are repeated several, several times to him.

In May of 2017, multiple Conservative MPs inquired whether he had met with the Ethics Commissioner in regard to his Aga Khan scandal. A simple yes or no answer would suffice, but it seems no matter how many times the opposition asks, the question is not able to pass through his thick skull. Below is a video of the question period. I will warn you though, it is pretty excruciatingly painful to watch.

The opposition asking Trudeau if he had met with the Ethics Commissioner during question period. (Source: CBC News)

Don’t pressure him though! He needs at least one week of preparation to answer one question. Trudeau is utterly unable to be even slightly transparent in his actions, exposing his dishonesty as a leader. Watching this myself, I feel embarrassed and ashamed that our political leaders have stooped down to such a pathetic level. This type of behavior has no place in any discussion, much less the Canadian House of Commons.

This isn’t the only instance where Trudeau has shown his duplicity in politics. In July 2020, Trudeau testified before the House Finance Committee concerning the WE Charity controversy. During the hearing, Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre repeatedly asks him a simple question: how much did the WE Charity pay his family? The answer should be as straightforward as a dollar figure, but straightforward is not what Trudeau does.

MP Poilievre questions Trudeau about the WE Charity controversy. (Source: Pierre Poilievre)

Again, it’s humiliating. The incompetency is only solidified through situations like these — and these situations are quite plentiful. As Prime Minister, Trudeau will continue to be deceitful in his actions to the public, and even when he is confronted, he still continues to deny and defer. We need not a leader who acts behind the shadows and attempts to conceal compromising situations, but one who is fully transparent and can actually answer simple questions.

Global Embarrassment

The leader of a nation is not only responsible for creating policy and leading the country but is also their responsibility to represent their nation on the global stage. In addition to Trudeau’s abhorring policy practices, he has also exhibited unprofessional and inappropriate behavior in the past for the world to see. Yes, I am talking about blackface.

On September 19, 2019, compromising photos of Justin Trudeau wearing “blackface” emerged. Originating from a 2001 yearbook from a school he had taught at, Trudeau had participated in an Arabian Nights themed gala, where he showed up wearing a turban and blackface makeup as Aladdin.

A second photo, which had been printed in the school newsletter, surfaced a while later on the same day. A day later, a video of Trudeau in blackface in the 1990s was released by Global News, only reinforcing the evidence stacking against him in the scandal. Though he claimed that he did not realize what he had done at the time was wrong, he profusely apologized to the public.

Trudeau in blackface. (Source: CBC News)

Canadians across the country were disgusted and offended by such a scandal, and many called for his resignation. Blackface has been a symbol of racial discrimination for a long time, and has left a damaging legacy for many members of the Black community. This repugnant past of the Prime Minister serves to embarrass not only Trudeau, but the overall image of Canada as well. More recently, Trudeau’s blackface photos were shown in the new dark comedy film Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, where the film pokes fun at him for being an “African leader.”

Trudeau in Borat 2. (Source: Amazon Prime Films)

Furthermore, let us not forget about the entire Indian-assassin-invitation train wreck debacle that occurred in 2018. After Trudeau returned from his India trip two years ago, he brought back a slurry of embarrassing photo ops of him sporting Indian dresses.

Trudeau wearing an Indian dress during his trip. (Source: The Washington Post)

But just when you thought that was bad enough, the controversy-plagued trip gets even worse. During his time in India, an invitation to an event hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner in Mumbai was extended to convicted attempted murderer and political terrorist Jaspal Atwal.

The blame was initially placed on MP Randeep Sarai, who suggested inviting Atwal. However, instead of admitting their embarrassing mistake, the Prime Minister’s Office took on a theory that this incident was an elaborate scheme orchestrated by the Indian government to humiliate Trudeau. Needless to say, there was no evidence supporting this ludicrous theory, and instead of deflecting humiliation, the PMO’s response only added to it. For some reason, the Prime Minister and his colleagues saw it fit to escalate the situation and aggravate the Indian government instead of admitting that they had made a mistake.

The threatening nature of the Liberal Party of Canada and Trudeau’s operations must not be understated. Even recently, they have once again attempted to undermine democracy by threatening to call a re-election amid a deadly pandemic to prevent ethical investigations into his office from happening.

Unfortunately, the media and society have failed to communicate or heavily emphasize the magnitude of these situations. While American and world politics take over the day-to-day conversation, Trudeau is allowed to fly under the radar while committing atrocities that are on the same level, if not more severe. As Canadians, we must not forget to become involved and hold our current government accountable, and we must not pass these situations off as acceptable just because Canadian politics seem boring and other current political issues seem to be more important.

No matter party affiliation or political view, it is inarguable that our current Prime Minister is unfit for such an important leadership position. And so, I heavily urge any reader to become more involved. I believe everybody has the responsibility of informing each other of the facts and the importance of the issues we have here at home — not just the ones happening around the world.

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