Do we like Justin Trudeau?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Real, concrete wins for LGBTQ+ Canadians, balanced by two ethics breaches, an admitted brownface past and a weakened carbon tax.
Justin Trudeau is the son of a prime minister, a former drama and French teacher, and he rode the Liberals to power in 2015 before resigning in 2025 and handing over to Mark Carney. Nothing new on the political front lately: since leaving he has mostly been in the gossip pages, and his June 2026 World Cup post is the latest bit of noise.
The ethics file is the big stain on his time in office. In 2019 the federal ethics commissioner found he breached the Conflict of Interest Act by trying to influence the attorney general over the SNC-Lavalin prosecution. In 2021 the same watchdog cleared him over the WE Charity contract, though his finance minister was found to have broken the law.
Then there's the brownface saga. In September 2019 Time published a 2001 photo of him in dark makeup and a turban at a school party, and he apologised, saying he should have known better. More images surfaced, and he acknowledged that wearing brownface was racist, even though he hadn't seen it that way at the time. Separately, a 2000 newspaper editorial alleged he groped a reporter at a festival; in 2018 he said he didn't remember any negative interactions that day.
On the harm check, the LGBTQ+ record is the strongest part. His government's conversion therapy ban became law in December 2021, covering consenting adults as well as kids, and he called the practice despicable and degrading. Nothing harmful toward trans people or women turned up in his own words. The caveat is climate: he backed carbon pricing, then granted a three-year exemption on heating oil in 2023, and green groups called it a slippery slope.
The Freedom Convoy is where where you land depends on your view. In 2022 he called the protesters a small fringe minority with unacceptable views, and a year later said he regretted the phrasing. In January 2026 the Federal Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that his government's use of the Emergencies Act against the convoy was unreasonable; the government had argued its measures were targeted and proportionate.
The good stuff is mostly policy rather than personal charity, and that's all this search found on that front. The conversion therapy law is a real, lasting protection, and he said LGBTQ2 Canadians would always have the government standing up for their rights. We couldn't confirm other charity work from sources we opened, so that's honestly the whole list here.